Jasprit Bumrah declares himself ‘fittest Indian cricketer’ over Virat Kohli, sparks nasty internet fan-war

The response from Jasprit Bumrah did receive applause from the crowd, but it sparked a war on social media between fans of the fast bowler and Virat Kohli

Who is the fittest cricketer in international cricket? The sports fraternity, including his ardent followers and cricketers who have played with him, against him, and coached him, will unanimously vote for Virat Kohli. It is not only because of his on-field dominance, both while batting and fielding, but also for the amount of hard work that he puts behind the scenes with the drive to give his best performance each time on the field. No wonder, R Sridhar, former India fielding coach, reckoned that the ex-India captain is from a different planet. Jasprit Bumrah claimed that he, not Virat Kohli, is the fittest cricketer in the Indian dressing room

“It’s only a very small part of your life, so what is the point in not giving it your all. That’s what he said recently in an interview. There’s so much for us to pick up from that. It’s unfortunate that not many can try and get inspired by it and use that template in their own personal lives. He is from a different planet. I kept asking him sometimes when I was with the team. ‘Have you had Kryptonite or something?’ He always replied with a smile. ‘Are you from Krypton? You’re surely not from earth’ Where does this energy comes from? And he’ll always smile. It’s unbelievable. What an inspiration,” Sridhar said on Anubhav Talks.

Get Unlimited access to Hindustan Times E-paper and Archives at  1199/- per year

However, Kohli’s teammate, Jasprit Bumrah, put his name forward when asked about the fittest cricketer in the Indian dressing room during a recent event, a video of which went viral on social media.

Knowing that the person asking the question was seeking ‘Kohli’ as the response, Bumrah, with a cheeky twist to his reply, and reasoning it well, said: “I know the answer you are searching for, but I would like to say my name, because I am a fast bowler. I have been playing for while…and being a fast bowler and playing in this country in the beat takes a lot of requirements. So I will always promote a fast bowler.”

The response from Bumrah did receive applause from the crowd, but it sparked a war on social media between fans of the fast bowler and Kohli. While those in support of Bumrah reckoned that “owned Kohli,” the other group of fans called out the India star for his “arrogance.”

Kohli and Bumrah return for Bangladesh Test series

The two India stars, who together played a vital role in India’s T20 World Cup trophy win in June, will be back in action in Test cricket with the two-match series against Bangladesh next week. This will be Kohli’s first contest since the ODI series against Sri Lanka, while Bumrah will be making a comeback after being rested since the World Cup.

The two, along with the rest of the Indian team picked for the Test series, assembled in Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday for a training camp. Kohli batted for close to 45 minutes in the nets, and pace spearhead Bumrah bowled full tilt.