'Am I Harmanpreet that I would go around hitting the stumps like that?'
In a row that has rocked Bangladesh women's cricket, Captain Nigar Sultana Joty has denied claims that she beat junior players, responding with a fiery defence that included a dig at India Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.
The controversy began after veteran pacer Jahanara Alam, in an emotional interview with journalist Riasad Azim, alleged that Joty had mistreated and even hit younger players in the national team. Joty dismissed the claims outright in a conversation with Daily Cricket, questioning both their authenticity and their timing.
Joty's remarks referenced the much-discussed incident involving Harmanpreet during India's 2023 tour of Bangladesh, where the Indian captain smashed the stumps after being given out LBW, criticised the umpiring as 'pathetic' and was accused of mocking Bangladesh players during the post-series photo session.
'Why would I hit anyone? I mean, why would I strike the stumps with my bat? Am I Harmanpreet, that I would go around hitting the stumps like that? 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? You can ask the other players or anyone else whether I've ever done anything like that,' Joty said.
She also questioned Jahanara's assertion that junior players had contacted her from Bangladesh to 'save' them, pointing out that Jahanara has been living abroad for years.
'The way I've been described in front of everyone, I'm not that kind of girl at all. First I heard that Jahanara apu has made an allegation about me, saying that someone called her in Australia and said, "Please save us, Joty apu is beating us and finishing us off".'
Joty argued that if any such incident had genuinely occurred, the players would have turned to the team's existing support system rather than someone thousands of kilometres away.
'What I'm trying to say is: Someone who hasn't been here for six or seven years and has gone off to Australia, if I really beat someone or harmed someone in any way, is there no team management, no manager, no coaching staff? Am I the ultimate authority then?'
'If this player had a problem, why would she call Jahanara apu all the way in Australia? She could've shared it with anyone here.'
The allegations come at a difficult time for Bangladesh, who managed only one win against Pakistan at the recent women's World Cup in Colombo. Despite fighting displays against South Africa and Sri Lanka, they failed to close out tight games.
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