Women's Cricket
Asian Games: Harmanpreet Kaur can play only if India reaches final
Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur can feature in Asian Games only if women's cricket team reaches the finals of the event.
Harmanpreet Kaur broke the stumps in anger after being adjudged out in the final match in Bangladesh.
Indian women's cricket team skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will be able to feature in the upcoming Asian Games only if India reaches the final of the event in Hangzhou.
Slapped with a two-match ban after her public outburst against Bangladesh, Harmanpreet is ineligible to play the quarter-final and semi-final as the Indian team is granted direct entry to the last eight stages.
Four teams in both men's and women's events -- India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh -- will be directly playing from the last eight stages, courtesy of the ICC T20I ranking on June 1. All the matches will have official T20I status.
The public outburst by the Indian skipper has drawn criticism from fans and former players alike. Former Indian skipper Mithali Raj said, "It was a below-par performance from the Indian team and they need to respect their opponents. I hope this incident helps Harman to channel her emotions better."
Even the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led men's team has got a direct entry into the quarter-final on the basis of its ICC T20 ranking on June 1.
The men's team will have 18 teams while the women's team will feature 14 teams. The women's competition will start on September 19 and end with the gold and bronze medal matches on September 26.
The men's event starts on September 28 and the final will be played on October 7, two days after the men's ICC 50-over World Cup starts in Ahmedabad.
