South Africa issues official statement on Jasprit Bumrah’s shocking ‘dwarf’ comment on Temba Bavuma

The coach of the South African national cricket team has spoken openly on the shocking comments made by the Indian national cricket team’s premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah on Proteas captain Temba Bavuma.

South Africa’s batting coach Ashwell Prince said he would not discuss the derogatory comments made by the leading Indian fast bowler inside the Proteas dressing room.

No, there will be no discussion – Ashwell Prince on Jasprit Bumrah-Temba Bavuma controversy

The first Test of the two-match series between India and South Africa began on Friday, November 14 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. During the first innings of the match, Jasprit Bumrah’s funny comment on Temba Bavuma quickly went viral on social media.

On the first ball of the 13th over, Jasprit Bumrah hit the ball on the pads of Temba Bavuma and went for an appeal, but the umpire turned it down.

Then, during a conversation with Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah called Bavuma ‘Bauna’, which means dwarf.

Here’s how the conversation unfolded:

Bumrah – “He is also a dwarf”

Rishabh Pant- “He is a dwarf, but he is here”

Jasprit Bumrah – “Bauna hai ye b****d”

JB – “Dwarf is this”
RP- “It is dwarf but it is planted here”
JB – “Bauna Hai Yeh Bisi”
bru #indvssa pic.twitter.com/Upmw6iTowt

– ~ (@Ro_Hrishu_45) 14 November 2025

When South Africa batting coach Ashwell Prince was asked about the comments made by Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant, he replied that he would not discuss it.

“No. There will be no discussion,” the prince said at a press conference after the end of the first day.

I think it was a sensational bowling performance, especially from Bumrah-Ashwell Prince

Ashwell Prince has praised Jasprit Bumrah for his sensational five-wicket haul in the Kolkata Test, saying he was quite tireless. He said (as quoted by RevSportz):

“I think it was a sensational bowling performance, especially from Bumrah. Siraj, in his first spell, didn’t hit his straps properly, but came back in his second spell when he changed ends and was quite good, found his rhythm, and found his line and length.

“But Bumrah was tireless and the spinners were very good too. So, I think sometimes as a batsman you can’t do much about him, but we have to work hard. There is still a long way to go in the game and hopefully we will deliver big in the second innings.”

I think there were signs early on that the boom was not sustainable – Ashwell Prince

Talking about the pitch on offer in the first Test, Ashwell Prince said that there was inconsistent bounce on the surface, which made things difficult for the batsmen. He elaborated:

“My assessment of the surface and I think maybe after four or five balls in the first over where one rolled and went for four byes and then came back after two or three balls, I think the signals were there very early on that the bounce is not consistent.

“It can often happen that when you expect batsmen to get to 20, 30 and increase in confidence, I don’t particularly believe that confidence has increased in any batsman because of the inconsistency of the bounce, and what can happen is that you don’t trust the surface as much as you should after spending an hour at the crease. And then, of course, when you face a quality bowling attack, they often take the ball into the danger zone. You can go and it happens too much, and unfortunately that’s still the case today.”

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