Harmanpreet Kaur – A fall from grace for the mighty brand

The meltdown of Harmanpreet Kaur, Indian women’s cricket captain in all formats as well as that of the Mumbai Indians in the Women’s Premier League (WPL), has been unprecedented – and she is already paying the price for it. The two-match ban by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday, for two separate breaches of Code of Conduct, were on expected lines.

It’s been quite a fall from grace for the spunky batter and a key performer behind women’s cricket in India enjoying much more eyeballs for the last six to seven years. The famous 171, off 113 balls, in the semi-finals of 50-overs World Cup in 2017 against Australia still ranks as one of the finest counterattacking innings ever in the women’s game as she had been a perfect example of been there, done that in the sport.

Even with the benefit of hindsight, there is no way one can condone her action in that eventful third and final one-dayer against Bangladesh at Dhaka last week. If one takes into account her smashing the stumps with the bat after her ‘dismissal,’ a decision Kaur felt was poor umpiring, it could still have been construed as a heat-of-the moment gesture.

However, it was a repeat offence during the presentation ceremony which further built up a damning case against her. Yes, there have been cases when influential names have spewed venom against umpires after day’s play or tried to browbeat them on the ground, but none showed the poor taste of asking the rival captain to call the umpires as part of the photocall for allegedly conniving with the hosts to ‘tie’ the game in question.   

To call it ‘not cricket’ will certainly be an understatement, leaving the game’s followers to worry as to what could have led to such an implosion on part of Kaur – a cult figure of sorts who inspired many young girls from her state, Punjab to take up cricket.

Was it a sense of entitlement, as the hypersensitive Bangladesh fans would tend to believe, of being the Indian captain – as the country wields a huge influence in world cricket? Could Kaur have dared to go to such a length if playing againt England or Australia in an away game? The latest rant has, not unsurprisingly, raised a major question mark about the classy performer’s anger management – with some raking up her mid-pitch rant against a young Dipti Sharma back in 2017.

‘’Harman (Kaur) has been the captain of the T20 team since 2016, so she knows what the protocol is…There is no point in engaging with the opposition, especially when the result has been sealed. ICC suspending her for two international games would hurt India as Harmanpreet is one of the most valuable players in the side. I hope this incident will push her to course correct and channel her emotions better, on and off the field,’’ remarked Mithali Raj in a signed column.

A former skipper of Kaur, Mithali would know her personality inside out. Much as Smriti Mandhana, the vice-captain, tried to defend her senior’s behaviour at the post-match media session with poise – it did not make much of a case except her call for neutral umpires. The absence of such officials, as also the Decision Review System (DRS) in Bangladesh, does not make sense at a time when the ICC has announced equal pay for men and women in their events.

For now, Khan looks set to miss India’s first two games in the Asian Games in China in September due to the ban. At 34 and with a better part of the career already behind her, she will now have the unenviable task of fighting a perception battle whenever she takes the field. A scenario she could have well avoided!