Don’t Blame the Kid”: Ex-India Cricketer Slams Captain Harmanpreet’s Criticism of Teen Bowler After Loss

Former Indian men’s cricketer Dodda Ganesh criticized Indian women’s team captain Harmanpreet Kaur for her post-match comments after India’s loss to Australia in the second T20I on Sunday.

In a viral social media post, Ganesh wrote “Throwing a 19-year-old kid under the bus is not done #INDvAUS,” referring to Kaur’s remarks about young bowler Shreyanka Patil’s 19th over.

In the post-match presentation, Kaur said “In 19th over, if Shreyanka was on target, it would have made a huge difference for us.” Australia needed 15 runs from the last two overs when Patil bowed the 19th over. Phoebe Litchfield hit two fours off the first three balls to take Australia close to victory.

Ganesh felt Kaur should not have singled out the youngster and put the blame on her.

The match saw India post 130/8 after another batting failure. Deepti Sharma top-scored with 31 and took 2 wickets but India fell short. Australia knocked off the runs in 19.1 overs to level the series 1-1.

The decision to bowl Patil at a crucial stage backfired for India. But Ganesh said “Throwing a 19-year-old kid under the bus is not done.” His post on social media slammed Kaur’s remarks and was widely shared by fans.

The series decider will be played on Tuesday at the same venue. India will be hoping for an improved performance to clinch the T20 series.