Two Australian women cricketers were allegedly subjected to inappropriate touching by a motorcyclist while walking to a cafe in Indore, India. The incident occurred on Thursday, just one day after the team had defeated England by six wickets.
According to police, the security officers of the Australian women's cricket team reported that two members of the team were approached and touched inappropriately by the motorcyclist. An investigation led to the identification and arrest of the accused, who has been charged with assault and stalking under Indian law.
Cricket Australia released a statement confirming that two team members had been subjected to such behavior and stating that the matter was reported to police. The players have received support, but will continue playing in the tournament.
The incident has sparked concerns over security protocols. Additional Deputy Commissioner Rajesh Dandotiya said the police were examining if there were any shortfalls in their procedures. Cricket's governing body in India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), described the incident as "deeply regrettable and isolated" but praised the swift action taken by the police.
The BCCI has promised to review its existing safety protocols and strengthen them further if necessary. News of the arrest broke while Australia was taking on South Africa, a game they won by seven wickets earlier in the day. The team's victory was marked by Alana King's record-breaking bowling spell, which saw her take 7/18 against South Africa.
India had defeated New Zealand in 1982 with a similar record-breaking bowling performance from Jackie Lord.
According to police, the security officers of the Australian women's cricket team reported that two members of the team were approached and touched inappropriately by the motorcyclist. An investigation led to the identification and arrest of the accused, who has been charged with assault and stalking under Indian law.
Cricket Australia released a statement confirming that two team members had been subjected to such behavior and stating that the matter was reported to police. The players have received support, but will continue playing in the tournament.
The incident has sparked concerns over security protocols. Additional Deputy Commissioner Rajesh Dandotiya said the police were examining if there were any shortfalls in their procedures. Cricket's governing body in India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), described the incident as "deeply regrettable and isolated" but praised the swift action taken by the police.
The BCCI has promised to review its existing safety protocols and strengthen them further if necessary. News of the arrest broke while Australia was taking on South Africa, a game they won by seven wickets earlier in the day. The team's victory was marked by Alana King's record-breaking bowling spell, which saw her take 7/18 against South Africa.
India had defeated New Zealand in 1982 with a similar record-breaking bowling performance from Jackie Lord.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke 
. Two Australian cricketers were touched inappropriately by a motorcyclist while walking to a cafe... like what even is that? 
The fact that the police did step in and arrested the guy pretty quickly is a good sign, but we gotta ask ourselves if there's more that could've been done to prevent it from happening in the first place 
.
an Aussie cricketer team just got assaulted by some psycho motorcyclist in India lol like what even is that!! i feel so bad for the players tho, they're already stressed out with the game and then this happens?
i dont think it's fair that they have to deal with dis on top of everything. Cricket Australia is right though, they shouldnt have to stop playing just because some idiot tried to harass them 
. I'm glad the police are taking action tho, that's what we need more of 
.
that some dude on a motorbike thinks he can just creep up to two cricketers and touch them inappropriately while they're trying to get a coffee 
i mean, who doesn't know basic personal space? and the fact that it happened in broad daylight (or at least, outside) is just wild 
! It's just awful that these two Aussie cricketers were subjected to such behavior while walking to a cafe in India. But I'm really proud of them for not letting it stop them from continuing their tournament 
. It just goes to show that they're taking this incident seriously and wanting to make sure all players are safe and respected 
.
. And can we talk about the record-breaking bowling performance from Jackie Lord back in 1982? What an amazing piece of cricket history! 
This is getting out of hand. First, it's players being stalked, now they're being touched up by random strangers... what's going on? 
... two Aussie cricketers get harassed by some biker in India while they're just trying to grab a coffee after a big win 
... I mean, what's the point of even having security if you can't do your job properly? 
It's like, shouldn't we be able to walk down the street without being touched or stared at by some stranger? 
.
, but what really gets me is that these women are still choosing to play despite going through this traumatic experience 
. I mean, can you imagine walking down the street and someone touching you inappropriately? It's just not right 
.
. We need to make sure these kinds of incidents don't happen again. But let's also talk about why these women felt comfortable enough to continue playing after what they went through? Was it just the adrenaline of the game or something else entirely? It's a complex issue and we need to have more conversations about it 
. We need to make sure these women are taken care of, both on and off the field 
.
I'm not saying it wasn't an isolated incident, but you never know. The BCCI is all over it now, talking about reviewing safety protocols and strengthening them up... sounds like a convenient excuse to me. What if this was just the tip of the iceberg? 
we should be proud of Alana King and other strong female cricketers who aren't afraid to speak out against injustice