Harmanpreet continues to stand by Charlie Dean run-out decision
courtesy
|| ICC ||
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur continues to support the decision to run Charlie Dean out at the non-striker's end in the final ODI of the England series.
Deepti Sharma's decision to run out Dean at the non-striker's end divided opinion among current and former players, experts and fans around the world. One week on from the incident, the talk still hasn't died down.
Defending only 170 for the win in Jhulan Goswami's farewell international match, England were in massive trouble at 65/7 before Amy Jones and Dean kept them in the game.
England were down to the last pair still needing 52 runs to win and Kate Cross and Dean frustrated India with their final-wicket stand. With 18 runs needed off seven overs, Deepti Sharma was handed the ball and on the third ball of the over, effected a run-out at the non-striker's end to dismiss Dean who was well out of her crease.
In the post-match presentation after the third ODI, India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur defended her bowler and at the virtual conference ahead of the Women's Asia Cup, continued to stand by the decision.
While she said that it wasn't a pre-meditated decision, the India players had noticed Dean backing up too far in the previous games.
"We were noticing for the last couple of games that she was taking long strides [outside the crease] and taking undue advantage," said Harmanpreet. "We were discussing all these things, but it was not in our plans to get her out like that."
"Everyone was out there to win the game. Whenever you are on the ground, you want to win at any cost, and the most important part is that you have to play within the rules of the game. And whatever we have done is within the rules. Bahot discussion ho gaya (We’ve discussed this enough) and now, we want to focus on the future."
Harmanpreet's focus will now turn to the Asia Cup, which begins on 1 October 2022 in Bangladesh. Seven teams, including India, will first fight it out in a round-robin format group stage with the top four qualifying for the semi-finals. The winners from the semis will face off in the final on 15 October.
With the Women's T20 World Cup not too far off, the tournament will be an ideal preparation to see where they stand.
The recent form of Shafali Verma has been a cause of concern for India, though Harmanpreet was quick to throw her support behind the youngster ahead of the tournament.
"She is doing well at the nets," said Harmanpreet. "If you talk about her performance, it’s part of life. Sometimes you play well, but when you go into a match, you cannot continue that. But she is looking good. It’s just a matter of time, and once that lean patch is over, you can get your form back. Every day she is working hard."
"This is a great platform where you can express yourself and play free cricket. You don’t have too much pressure. We will try to give enough match time so that she can get her confidence back."
India's Asia Cup campaign begins on the opening day against Sri Lanka.
