In a dramatic turn of events, Bangladesh women's cricket team captain Nigar Sultana Joty has brought Indian World Cup-winning skipper Harmanpreet Kaur into a heated controversy surrounding physical assault claims made against her by former teammates.
The Allegations and Immediate Response
The controversy erupted when Jahanara Alam, a Bangladesh women's pacer currently out of national contention, revealed that several junior cricketers had approached her with claims that Nigar Sultana had physically mistreated them. Alam alleged that the captain had "hit" and "mistreated" younger players within the team setup.
Responding to these serious allegations in an interview with Daily Cricket, Nigar Sultana dismissed them as completely baseless. "Why would I hit anyone?" she questioned, expressing bewilderment at the accusations. The Bangladesh captain, who recently led her team in the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 held in India, suggested the timing and source of these claims were suspicious.
The Harmanpreet Kaur Reference That Shook Cricket Circles
What made Nigar Sultana's response particularly provocative was her direct reference to Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur's past controversial behavior. "I mean, why would I strike the stumps with my bat? Am I Harmanpreet, that I would go around hitting the stumps like that?" she stated during the interview.
This pointed remark refers to the incident during India's 2023 tour of Bangladesh when Harmanpreet Kaur, frustrated after being given LBW during the third ODI, smashed the stumps with her bat. The Indian captain had questioned the standard of umpiring and later during the post-match presentation called the officiating "pathetic."
Nigar Sultana further elaborated: "Why would I do it? In my personal space, if I'm cooking or something, I might bang my bat around, I might hit my helmet—that's my own business. But why would I do something like that to someone else? Why would I get physical? Just because someone says so?"
Background of the Referenced Controversy
The Harmanpreet Kaur incident that Nigar Sultana referenced occurred during a tense match where the Indian skipper didn't stop at just smashing the stumps. She also mocked the Bangladesh team when they were posing with the trophy, famously yelling "bring the umpires too" in what many perceived as poor sportsmanship.
Meanwhile, Nigar Sultana has challenged her accusers to verify the allegations with other team members. "You can ask the other players or anyone else whether I've ever done anything," she asserted, expressing confidence that her teammates would vouch for her conduct.
The Bangladesh captain also questioned why these allegations were being communicated through someone who has been out of the national team for years, rather than being addressed directly through proper channels within the cricket administration.
This developing story has created ripples in the cricket community, bringing past controversies back into focus while raising serious questions about player conduct and leadership in women's cricket. As both teams prepare for future international engagements, how this controversy resolves could have significant implications for team dynamics and cross-border cricketing relations.
