“It’s none of my business,” was Harmanpreet Kaur’s famous reply to a journalist who said that women’s cricket was losing popularity

India, captained by Harmanpreet Kaur, will take on Pakistan, their bitter rivals, in their inaugural Women’s Asia Cup encounter on Friday, July 19. The Indian captain attended the pre-tournament press conference ahead of the eagerly awaited match, where she was irritated by a contentious question from a reporter.

This year’s continental competition will be played in the Twenty20 format, and Sri Lanka will serve as the sole host nation. In addition, the competition will act as a practice for the forthcoming Women’s T20 World Cup. This month, Harmanpreet will be looking to lead the Women in Blue to an unprecedented seventh Asia Cup victory. She outlined India’s goals for the competition in the news conference, calling it “extremely important” for her team.

When questioned if people were becoming less interested in women’s cricket, the 35-year-old responded with an incredible response from a reporter. When India recently visited Bangladesh in April or May, a reporter made the observation that “less journalists appeared on the press conferences, what is your opinion?”

With a snappy “Well, that’s none of my business, you guys have to come and cover us,” Harmanpreet Kaur instantly silenced the reporter.

Harmanpreet’s relationship with the Bangladesh Cricket Team is well-documented. She voiced her displeasure during an ODI in Dhaka last year after she was dismissed due to a contentious call made by the umpire. During the post-match presentation ceremony, she termed the umpiring “pathetic” and used her bat to demolish the stumps. It is also said that Harmanpreet called for the umpires to be invited when both teams were posing for a picture, implying that they were biassed in favour of Bangladesh.

The right-handed batter was fined and even suspended for two games in addition to receiving three demerit points for disobedience. She has now gained controversy in Bangladeshi media, and many people chose to ignore her when India visited the nation.

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There will be eight teams participating in the 2024 Women’s Asia Cup. Group A consists of India, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Nepal, while Group B is made up of Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The tournament begins on Friday in Dambulla with a match between the UAE and Nepal in the afternoon, followed by an evening match between India and Pakistan.