South Africa batting coach Ashwell Prince said South Africa will have ‘no discussion’ about Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant’s ‘bauna‘ (dwarf) comment on their captain, Temba Bavuma,
during the ongoing first Test at the Eden Gardens.
It happened in the 13th over of South Africa’s innings. Bumrah bowled a nip-backer to Bavuma, who played it down the wrong line and got hit on the back thigh. The pacer appealed for it immediately, but the on-field umpire gave it not-out. Bumrah convened with Rishabh Pant, and while discussing the height of where the ball struck the batter, they referred to him as a ‘bauna‘.
It is usually considered an acceptable term for those suffering from dwarfism, but some might find it offensive when used for people who are simply short in height.
“No. There will be no discussion,” Prince said at the press conference after the end of the first day. “It’s the first time it’s come to my attention. I don’t think there’ll be any issues with what’s happened,” he added.
This decision remained not-out, but Bavuma eventually got out for 3 (11), losing his wicket to spinner Kuldeep Yadav. South Africa folded for 159/10 in 55 overs and India scored 37/1 in 20 overs to go to Stumps trailing by 122 runs.
“Siraj, in his first spell, did not quite hit his steps,” Prince said, assessing his team’s batting performance. “However, he came back in his second spell when he changed ends, and it was pretty good. Found his rhythm and found his line in there. But Bumrah was relentless and the spinners were pretty good as well. So I think there were quite a few good deliveries and sometimes there’s batters. There’s not a lot you can do about them. We’ve got to work hard. A long way to go in the game. And hopefully, we’ll do better in the second innings.”
