News
WPL 2025: Why Was Harmanpreet Kaur Reprimanded & Fined?
Follow UsThe Mumbai Indians captain was involved in a heated exchange with UPW's Sophie Ecclestone and umpire Ajitesh Argal
Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Harmanpreet Kaur has been reprimanded and fined 10 percent of her match fees for breaching the Women’s Premier League (WPL) Code of Conduct during the game against UP Warriorz (UPW) in Lucknow on March 6 (Thursday).
The incident happened in the 19th over of the first innings when umpire Ajitesh Argal informed Harmanpreet that MI would only be allowed three fielders outside the circle in the final over due to a slow over-rate.
Harmanpreet wasn’t impressed with the decision and was seen arguing with the umpire. UPW’s Sophie Ecclestone, who was at the non-striker’s end, tried to intervene and ended up being involved in a heated argument with Harmanpreet.
“Harmanpreet Kaur admitted to the Level 1 offence under Article 2.8 which relates to showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during a match,” said the press release.
Talking about the incident, MI’s star all-rounder Amelia Kerr said: “I was just trying to defuse the situation. Obviously, Harman and Sophie got a little bit heated out there.
“Both are very passionate cricketers and competitive and I'm a bit more laid back, so I was just having a bit of a joke with them both and trying to calm the situation.
“It just had to do with the over-rate. We started the over, obviously we were too slow, and she was just asking why we couldn't start the over earlier because we were ready and we were waiting. But it did show on the clock that we were behind time.
“So that's something that we've got to get better at as a team because later on in the competition, if you have three out at the end, it can be a real advantage to the batting side.
“So we've got to try and find ways where we can be quicker, and that's not Harman's responsibility, that's us as a team because she's got so much to focus on. We've got to be quicker between the overs as a fielding group."
The Warriorz managed 150/9 in their 20 overs, which MI chased down with nine deliveries and six wickets to spare. As a result, Mumbai jumped at the second spot on the points table, while UP are currently placed at the bottom with two wins in seven matches.
