'Manipulative, lying, undeserving captain': Mithali Raj's manager slams Harmanpreet Kaur

The Indian women cricket team's unbeaten run at the World T20 came to an end after they were handed a crushing eight-wicket defeat by England in their semi-final match at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Friday, November 23.

Many had expected the Women In Blue to go all the way given their extraordinary form. However, they failed to overcome the nerves of the previous encounter between the two sides which was the final of the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup, and in the process suffered a humiliating defeat.

The reason for the loss was pinned on skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who decided to not include an experienced Mithali Raj in the playing XI against England. She said that the decision was made in the best interest of the team and to not tinker with the winning combination.

After the match, Harmanpreet Kaur insisted that she had 'no regrets' leaving Mithali Raj from the squad - A statement which received huge criticism from all quarters.

This decision to rest Mithali Raj who was in fine form and had no injury niggles, didn't go down well with fans and expert alike. However, the most prominent to vent their frustration over this move was Mithali Raj's manager, Annisha Gupta, who lashed out at Harmanpreet Kaur and termed the Indian skipper as 'manipulative and a undeserving' captain.

Annisha Gupta made her sentiments felt on Twitter, but later took down the tweet after it received severe backlash. Here's the tweet: "Unfortunately @BCCIWomen believes in politics not sport. After witnessing what @M_Raj03 's experience could do in IndvIre it's shocking that they went with what pleases @ImHarmanpreet -a manipulative, lying, immature undeserving captain."

The account has also been deleted as of now, though in a conversation with ESPNCricinfo, Annisha Gupta testified that the account belonged to her. "I'd like to say that I don't know what is going on on the inside but, now that the matches are being telecast, we can see who is performing and who is not," Annisha was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"And we can see the kind of treatment that Mithali has received despite her brilliant performance and despite showing stability and consistency. The kind of treatment she has received is completely uncalled for and there is something deeper than we need to look at than just the statements that have been coming out.

"There are statements coming out that they wanted to give younger cricketers a chance but you don't drop your senior-most, most experienced players in a semi-final against a country like England. It goes beyond giving the youngsters a chance," she added.

Reiterating her statement, Annisha said she could not stand the unfair treatment meted out to India's highest scorer in the shortest format with 2,283 T20I runs.

Maybe I was a little angry but I think it comes from the right place because I don't stand for unfair treatment. The kind of favouritism that has been shown is very apparent. I think everybody can see the kind of favouritism that is being shown to certain members of the team," Annisha said.