“If he is getting annoyed, obviously, something must have happened” - Kris Srikkanth after Jasprit Bumrah's cryptic post
Former India opener Kris Srikkanth reckons that senior Mumbai Indians (MI) pacer Jasprit Bumrah might be a bit disappointed with the franchise for getting all-rounder Hardik Pandya back to the franchise from Gujarat Titans (GT). According to the 1983 World Cup winner, Bumrah could also be hurt with reports that Pandya might replace Rohit Sharma as MI skipper in the upcoming seasons.
Gujarat Titans retained Pandya while announcing their retention list for IPL 2024 on Sunday, November 26. However, within a couple of hours, reports emerged that he had been traded to MI. The deal was officially announced on Monday.
After all the drama, a cryptic post by Bumrah on Instagram went viral, which read:
"Silence is sometimes the best answer."
Sharing his thoughts on Bumrah in the wake of Pandya’s return and the former’s cryptic post, Srikkanth was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel (h/t Rediff):
"You can't find another cricketer like Jasprit Bumrah. Be it Tests or white-ball cricket, he is one of the best going around. He gave it his all in the World Cup. And as you said, in the fifth Test against England, he was the stand-in Test captain in 2022.
"He might be regretting. It could be his ego, or he might be hurt by the fact that he stayed back at MI and gave his all, but the team is bringing back someone who had left and celebrating him. He feels it's not fair," the 63-year-old added.
Pandya made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians in 2015 and went on to become a key member of the franchise. However, he was released ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction after which he joined Gujarat Titans as captain.
“Something similar happened with Jadeja at CSK” - Srikkanth hopeful of MI sorting out issues with Bumrah
Referring to the Ravindra Jadeja and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) case, Srikkanth pointed out that there were issues between the player and the franchise as well, but those were sorted out. He is hopeful of the MI management doing the same with Bumrah:
"Something similar happened with Ravindra Jadeja at CSK. But the team management and the captain came in and sorted out everything. In my opinion, I am sure the team management will sit with Pandya, Bumrah, and Rohit and sort out things. As a team only, you can only win championships. I would been hurt if something like that happened to me,” Srikkanth said.
"After Hardik Pandya has returned, Bumrah might think, I am from Gujarat, I could have captained that team. I don't [know] whether it's a lack of communication. Something must have happened. Otherwise, Bumrah is such a down-to-earth person. He is a fantastic human being if he is getting annoyed, obviously, something must have happened,” the former India cricketer concluded.
Bumrah has played 120 IPL matches, claiming 145 wickets at an average of 23.30 and an economy rate of 7.39.