Harmanpreet Kaur suspended for 2 international matches over outburst at umpires in Bangladesh ODI series

The Indian women’s cricket team captain, Harmanpreet Kaur,has been handed a two-match ban by the International Cricket Council (ICC) following her outburst during.

The third and final One Day International (ODI) against Bangladesh in Dhaka. The incident occurred on July 24th, 2023, when Kaur expressed her dissatisfaction with an umpiring decision by smashing her bat on the stumps and gesturing in protest towards the umpire, Tanvir Ahmed.

ICC said in a statement on Tuesday that Harmanpreet was handed the two-match suspension based on two seperate breaches of its Code of Conduct.

She was found guilty of breaching article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, relating to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision”.

Kaur was also fined 25 percent of her match fee for a Level 1 offence relating to “public criticism in relation to an incident occurring in an international match” when, during the presentation ceremony, Kaur openly criticised the umpiring in the match.

Harmanpreet smashed the stumps with her bat after being caught at slip by umpire Tanvir Ahmed on Saturday, appearing to remonstrate with the umpire before making a gesture in the direction of the crowd. She later described the umpiring standard as “pathetic” during the post-match ceremony.

The match officials recommended three demerit points for equipment damage and one demerit point for publicly criticising the match officials. The ICC will make the final decision. The BCCI is said to have spoken with the ICC about the situation.

This conduct has led to her being the first woman cricketer likely to be found guilty of a level-two breach of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) code of conduct, which governs player behaviour.

Breaking the stumps – either with the bat or by kicking them – while reacting to umpiring decisions is unusual in cricket. The most recent case, by chance, occurred in Bangladesh. During a Dhaka Premier League T20 match between Abahani Limited and Mohammedan Sporting Club in 2021, Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan was suspended for three matches and fined US$ 5800 (approx.).

The ICC regulations stipulate that if a player accumulates four or more demerit points within a 24-month period, they are converted into suspension points. In Kaur’s case, she is expected to receive three demerit points for damaging playing equipment and one for publicly criticising match officials. This totals four demerit points, which equates to two suspension points, resulting in a ban from two matches.

This is not the first time Kaur has been penalised. She previously earned a demerit point during the semi-final of the ODI World Cup 2017 against Australia for throwing her helmet on the ground and verbally attacking her partner, Deepti Sharma.

The final decision regarding Kaur’s penalty lies with the ICC. However, it is understood that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is currently in discussions with the world governing body of cricket on the matter. If the ban is upheld, Kaur will likely miss the first two games of the upcoming South Africa home series.