Harmanpreet is manipulative, lying and immature captain: Mithali's manager
It was a strange decision by Indian women's cricket team skipper Harman Kaur, dropping Mithali Raj for the semi-final clash against England in the ICC Women's World T20. A depleted India went on to lose the match as they suffered a batting collapse. Post India's loss, Kaur received flak from many fans. And now Mithali's manager has lashed out at the Indian skipper.
In-form Mithali was surprisingly omitted from playing XI
After being asked to bat lower down the order in the opening match, Mithali resumed her normal position as an opener for the next two matches. Mithali hit 56 against Pakistan and then notched a gritty 51 against the Irish eves. She was rested for the game against Australia in a rather strange manner. And then in a vital semis clash, she was dropped.
A disastrous show followed by Harmanpreet's reasoning
The Indian eves were shut down for just 112 against England. Besides Smriti, none of the batswomen went past 30. India lost the encounter by 8 wickets and crashed out. Kaur in her post-match conference said she didn't regret the decision to drop Mithali. "Whatever we decided, we decided for the team. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, no regrets," said Kaur.
'Kaur is a manipulative, lying, immature, undeserving captain'
Mithali's manager Annisha Gupta had tweeted from an unverified account, ""Unfortunately @BCCIWomen believes in politics not sport. After witnessing what @M_Raj03 's experience could do in IndvIre it's shocking that they went with what pleases @ImHarmanpreet -a manipulative, lying, immature, undeserving captain." The account has been deleted now. She confirmed to Cricinfo that she was the one who tweeted about Kaur.
'Kind of treatment Mithali has received is uncalled for'
Annisha isn't impressed with the the treatment Raj has received despite being consistent with the bat. "And we can see the kind of treatment that Mithali has received despite her brilliant performance and despite showing stability and consistency. The kind of treatment she has received is completely uncalled for," said Annisha. She added that it's for everyone to see who's performing and who isn't.
'You don't drop your senior-most player in a semi-final'
"There are statements coming out that they wanted to give younger cricketers a chance but you don't drop your senior-most, most experienced players in a semi-final against a country like England. It goes beyond giving the youngsters a chance."
It was a poor decision from Kaur: Our take
One needed the calm head of Mithali in a match as big as this. Further, she was experiencing a good run of form. Taniya Bhatia, who has been woefully out of form, had replaced Mithali as an opener and failed with 11 runs against England. It was a poor decision from Kaur and the head coach. Kaur should clarify the reason behind dropping Mithali.
