India vs South Africa: Netizens blast Jasprit Bumrah for body-shaming Temba Bavuma

Jasprit Bumrah stole the limelight on the opening day of the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata on Friday (November 14). The pacer picked up his 16th five-wicket haul in Tests and ended with figures of 5-27 as the visitors were bowled out for just 159 despite having a solid opening stand.

While Bumrah had a routinely exceptional day with the ball, he also grabbed headlines for a moment of chatter that was caught by the stump mic, triggering emotional responses from netizens. The pace spearhead allegedly used words that were in a bodyshaming tone towards South Africa's captain Temba Bavuma.

The incident happened in the last ball of the 13th over of the innings. A sharp indipper from Bumrah had Bavuma pinned on the crease as it struck the SA skipper on the back pad. In real time, it looked very close and Bumrah was relentless in his appeal but the on-field umpire wasn't interested.

Visibly frustrated at not getting the decision, Bumrah was seen chatting with his teammates about a possible review. The discussion shifted to height and Bumrah felt that Bavuma being a short man should have helped his appeal. However, he allegedly used the word 'Bauna' while describing Bavuma and this word in Hindi means 'dwarf'.

Whether it was intentional or not, Bumrah's alleged words had a bodyshaming tone and netizens have come down hard on India's premier fast bowler with many expressing their surprise over the choice of words used. Whether this incident gets escalated or not will depend on how South Africa react to this. As of now, there have been no complaints from the visitors just yet.