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Captain of the India Women’s team, Harmanpreet Kaur has been suspended by ICC for two international games, for breaching the code of conduct during the ODI series in Bangladesh.
Consequently, she won’t feature in the first two games of India Women’s next assignment - the 2023 Asian Games in September.
Earlier, Kaur was slammed with a 50% fine on her match fee and three demerit points for a Level 2 offense in the tied final ODI against Bangladesh. She had smashed the stumps with her bat during an angry reaction at being given out by the on-field umpire. Later, she criticized the umpiring in the game during the presentation ceremony, which imposed an additional 25% penalty on her match fee and another demerit point.
She was also heard telling her Bangladeshi counterpart Nigar Sultana to invite the umpires on stage after the post-match presentation, forcing the Bangladesh players to opt out of a joint photo session. The match was tied and the series leveled 1-1.
As the ICC rules state, four demerit points within a 24-month period are converted into two suspension points. Four to seven demerit points lead to two suspension points, resulting in a player getting banned for one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is, whatever comes first.
In Kaur’s case, India now play the Asian Games 2023 in China in their next assignment. Kaur, the India skipper, will miss the first two games under these suspension points.
She admitted "showing dissent at an umpire's decision" and "public criticism in relation to an incident occurring in an international match", the ICC said in a statement, adding that she accepted her punishment.
India has directly qualified for the Asian Games quarterfinals based on their rankings and Kaur will miss the knockout stage until the final if India makes it that far.
