The International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended Harmanpreet Kaur, the India Women’s team captain, for two matches. She could potentially miss India’s quarter-final and semi-final matches at the Asian Games, if the pre-competition favourites progress that far.
It is a very fair call from the custodians of the game. Anything less than a ban would have sent the wrong signal to the next generation of stars. It would have bred further sense of entitlement and set a very sorry example.
The worst aspect of the fiasco was to see Harmanpreet’s actions get justified on social media. Some called it a sign of a “New India” that she did not hold back. That’s where social media got it really wrong. By trying to be cheerleaders on behalf of a celebrity, we lose our sense of logic and perspective. Harmanpreet did not act as a leader should, and had to pay the price. She will surely get better and learn her lessons from this mistake.
It was also important that the BCCI did not lobby on her behalf. In fact, they let the ICC take a fair call without exerting any pressure, and that can only augur well for the game. The game is far more important than any one player, and anyone who disrespects its laws, conventions and spirit needs to be called out.
In Harmanpreet’s case, this isn’t the first time she has lost control on the ground. She did so in 2017 when she had unleashed her aggression on Deepti Sharma, her colleague, during a World Cup semi-final. Anger management is part of any elite athlete’s skill-set, and the faster the Indian skipper learns this, the better it is for her and her team.
There are thousands who aspire to be Harman. Be like her and follow in her footsteps. Had this ban not been handed out, a wrong message would have been sent. Players would think they can do anything and get away with it. That’s where the ICC needed to take control, and for the sake of cricket, it is a good call that they made.
Nigar Sultana Joty, the Bangladesh skipper, acted with a lot of poise and composure and deserves to be commended. That was leadership. At no point did she attack Harman in the press conference, and all she said was that there was reason behind her calling the players back to the change room.
By calling Harman out, the ICC has made a serious statement against such star tantrums. It doesn’t matter who you are. Such behaviour – smashing stumps and questioning the umpires’ integrity at a post-match presentation – is simply unacceptable, and throwing the book at her as the ICC has done will take the sport forward.