Bengaluru, Sept. 26 -- "We can only control what happens on the field. Other matters are beyond our hands. In the dressing room, we don't even discuss these things. We are here only to play cricket, and our focus will remain on cricket."That was India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, cutting through the din surrounding the Asia Cup and signalling, in words and tone, that her team will not be distracted by theatrics off the pitch.
The Asia Cup, held earlier this month, had provided plenty of spectacle beyond cricket: a frosty post-match no-handshake between players, and a Pakistani cricketer's mimicry of a fighter jet - gestures that media and social channels quickly politicised. Headlines, hashtags, and public debate threatened to turn a sporting...