“She was taking long strikes and undue advantage” - Harmanpreet Kaur opens up on Charlie Dean run-out controversy

India women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur has opened up on the Charlie Dean run-out controversy in the third ODI at Lord’s during the tour of England. She claimed that the batter was taking long strikes and undue advantage and praised Deepti Sharma for her awareness.

A massive controversy erupted during the Lord’s ODI between India women and England women on September 24. With the match on a knife-edge, off-spinner Deepti ran out Dean for backing up too far at the non-striker’s end.

The dismissal saw India win the match by 16 runs. Along with that, they also claimed the series by a 3-0 margin. Having thumped England in England, India will head into the Asia Cup in Bangladesh high on confidence.

Speaking ahead of India’s first match against Sri Lanka women on Saturday, October 1, Harmanpreet opened up on the run-out controversy. Addressing a press conference, she said:

“We were noting these things from last couple of games. She was taking long strikes and undue advantage, it was Deepti’s awareness (that she took the bails off).”

“It was not part of the plan but everyone was there to win the game. Whenever you are on the ground, you want to win at any cost. The most important thing is to play within the rules. Whatever we did was very much in the rules. Whatever happened, it was not part of the plan but it has happened, we need to move on."

While the mode of dismissal that occurred at Lord’s is currently listed under the “Unfair Play” section of cricket laws, it will be moved to the “Run-Out’ section from October 1 as per ICC’s updated playing conditions.

---

"Ever since I started playing cricket, responsibility is something I have enjoyed" - Harmanpreet Kaur

Harmanpreet also stated that she enjoys the responsibility of leading the side. The aggressive batter has been India’s women’s T20I captain for a while now.

She was handed the ODI leadership as well after Mithali Raj announced her retirement from international cricket earlier this year. Sharing her thoughts on leadership, Harmanpreet said:

"Ever since I started playing cricket, responsibility is something I have enjoyed. Leading the team is the biggest responsibility, and I am enjoying that.

"The coach, support staff, teammates, BCCI are appreciating, and we all are working together. When you work as a team, you can achieve good results. I am getting all the backing, and the focus has been on performance. I have told the team-mates that they have my backing, and they need to go and express themselves."

Harmanpreet has been in excellent form with the bat in recent matches. She has scored 658 runs in her last 13 ODIs at an average of over 73. During the tour of England, she hammered a sensational 143 in Canterbury.