‘Deplorable’ Behavior Crosses the Line in Match Against Bangladesh.
The images from the tie-breaking women’s match between India and Bangladesh on Saturday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka have really troubled me. I’ve been watching cricket for a long time, but I’ve never seen an Indian captain behave so poorly following a game. Bangladeshi events were uncalled for.
Even if it’s not ideal, cricket players’ reactions to poor umpiring decisions are nothing new. One can be excused up to a point because it can be hard to manage your emotions when you’re in a tight situation. Harmanpreet is hardly the first cricketer to express disapproval, and the ICC was correct to punish her. I acknowledge that poor choices were made. In the past, we have witnessed bad judgements as well.
But given that Harmanpreet is the Indian captain, what occurred after the game was unnecessary. For her teammates, she has set a poor example. I say that because juniors look up to seniors, and over time, this may have an influence on the culture of the team. This makes Harmanpreet’s actions even more deplorable.
It was disgusting to witness Harmanpreet ask the umpires to take pictures with the Bangladesh squad, giving the impression that they were teammates who played for them. I am aware of Harman’s anger, so perhaps her rude behaviour was motivated by her inability to score runs. But on that particular day, she went too far since she persisted in objecting while the presentation was being made.
The team’s underperformance in comparison to expectations is more concerning. The BCCI is doing everything it can to help them. The issue is that these players are not paying attention to their cricket and are acting like celebrities. It is imperative that the BCCI act now. Such conduct is not acceptable.
The Indian board must make sure that the women’s squad has a permanent coaching staff in the meanwhile. Intervention is required immediately, and impromptu appointments should end. Since there hasn’t been a coach in six months, we need to find a solution before the Asian Games.
Lot of issues:
Why is the recruiting of support employees taking so long? Ad-hoc coaches are unable to comprehend a team. Since they are aware that the players would only be around for a short time, they are not concerned about them. These females need to get serious, thus we need full-time support personnel.
At the same time, BCCI needs to make some serious decisions since there is now no accountability. Players must understand that the Indian board would take action if they violate the line. We watched Jemimah Rodrigues and Shafali Verma bowling during the series; who are the other bowlers?
Fortunately, they took wickets, but because of their bowling, they were not chosen. Looking at the situation, it appears like the team is trying to secure Shafali’s position by having her bowl because she isn’t scoring.
The pacers have vanished. Shikha Pandey was chosen by the selectors but has since been dropped. For the Asian Games, Pooja Vastrakar has been retained in the reserves. Is that situation problematic in any way? I hope the BCCI meets with the squad and grills them with difficult questions. What went wrong and why must be explained. Accountability issues must be resolved for all parties, including players, selectors, and coaches.
The squad should, in my opinion, also have a suitable fitness strategy. They can even enrol in demanding army training. Richa Ghosh reportedly wasn’t chosen by the selectors because she failed a fitness test, but judging by this team, there might very well be other players who also would have passed the test yet are still on the roster.
The BCCI is providing them with all they need, including excellent salary and facilities, therefore it’s about time they hired a psychologist to determine why these females falter under pressure. What prevented us from doing effectively against a squad like Bangladesh? If we face ‘major’ teams like England and Australia, what will happen?