Alyssa Healy cops backlash in India over comments about Harmanpreet Kaur

Alyssa Healy has drawn the ire of cricket fans in India after rubbing salt into Harmanpreet Kaur's wounds amid the Indian captain's heartbreak at the T20 World Cup. The Aussies won the title on Sunday night, beating South Africa by 19 runs in the final to claim their sixth T20 World Cup trophy.

However they very nearly didn't make the final after narrowly beating India in the semi. Kaur had threatened to cause a huge boilover against Australia and appeared on track to guide India into the final.

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She was on 52 off just 34 balls when things went horribly wrong for the India captain. Kaur stroked the ball into the outfield towards the deep square-leg boundary and appeared destined to make an easy two runs.

However Ash Gardner produced a brilliant effort in the outfield and made Kaur scramble for her ground with an accurate throw over the bails. Kaur would have made her ground easily but her bat got stuck in the turf before it crossed the crease, with Healy whipping off the bails and finding Kaur short of her ground.

The key dismissal proved a huge turning point as the Aussies wrestled back the momentum and eventually advanced to the final. Speaking afterwards, Kaur said: "I can't feel unluckier than this. It was definitely a disappointment because the way I was batting, maybe that was the only chance I could get out. Otherwise, the way I was hitting the ball, I was taking this innings until the end."

But Healy doesn't see it that way. Speaking to ABC Sport ahead of Sunday night's final, Healy said Kaur wasn't unlucky at all and could have made her ground easily if she ran hard all the way.

"Harmanpreet can say all she likes that it was so unlucky," Healy said. "But at the end of the day she cruised back and probably could have been past the crease, you know, an extra two metres if she genuinely put in the effort. So we'll take it.

"You could say you're unlucky all your life, but it's generally about effort and energy at that moment in time. And I know that's something we speak about in the field in particular is putting in that effort and putting in that energy.

"That comes back to running between wickets as well. It's doing those little basics better than the opposition and that's how you win big tournaments. And I feel like we've been doing that quite well."

Alyssa Healy comments cop backlash in India

Needless to say, the comments haven't gone down well in India. Fans have latched onto Healy's remarks on social media and accused her of needlessly kicking Kaur while she's down and being 'disrespectful'.

But many others pointed out that Healy is actually correct and agreed with her. Kaur could be seen jogging the first run and only put in maximum effort when she realised she might be in trouble. As they say, the harder you work, the luckier you get.

It's not the first time Healy's remarks have sparked backlash in India. The Aussie star labelled the Indian men's team 'whingers' in 2021 after they complained about conditions in hotel quarantine in Brisbane.

“The Aus and NZ women’s teams did their quarantine in the same hotel last year. Here’s a shock - we survived …” Healy wrote on Twitter. Healy also responded to one fan who asked if she’d ever spent four months in quarantine. “There’s a few Aus players who haven’t been home since July - haven’t heard them whinge yet," she said.

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