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Team India pacer Jasprit Bumrah has opened up on his Marcus Rashford-like celebration during the India-Afghanistan 2023 World Cup match in Delhi on Wednesday. While he did not seem to agree that he was imitating the Manchester United forward, he added that he did it because he felt like doing so.
Bumrah was the star performer with the ball, claiming 4/39 as India restricted Afghanistan to 272/8 in Delhi. Rohit Sharma then hammered a blazing hundred as India aced the chase in 35 overs with eight wickets in hand.
The Indian pacer’s first wicket in the match was that of Afghanistan opener Ibrahim Zadran. He had the batter caught behind with a probing delivery and then celebrated like Rashford by placing a finger to the side of his head.
Asked about it at the post-match press conference, Bumrah downplayed the hype over the celebration and the comparison with Rashford.
“Nothing like that. I just felt like it, so I did it,” he commented.
The 29-year-old was also asked for his views on fans losing interest in one-day cricket. There have been empty stands for a few matches of the ongoing World Cup.
On whether he feels interest in the format can be revived, Bumrah replied:
“That depends on the interest because maybe the longer game is sometimes difficult for people to watch and keep a tab on. But at the end of the day, I come from a generation which loves cricket. I watched Test Match and that was my favorite format. So, I probably would not be able to relate to that because I love watching the game. I love watching the longest format of the game. So yeah, probably you'll have to ask a person who's a little younger than me.”
There have been question marks over the future of the 50-over format for a while now in the wake of the growing popularity of T20 cricket.
“Not too bad” - Bumrah on playing afternoon game in Delhi
Players have been struggling with heat and humidity during the World Cup in India. Some bowlers have even taken mid-over breaks to refresh themselves, while chairs have been brought out for batters. Bumrah, however, asserted that things weren’t too bad in Delhi.
“We played a few games in the afternoon. Out of all the afternoon venues, today was actually not too bad. It was a little breezy; it was not very, very hot. So, I would take this day in terms of weather for sure,” he said.
India’s next match in the 2023 World Cup will be against Pakistan in Ahmedabad on Saturday, October 14.
