Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is known for his calm and composed demeanour on the field. However, he has ruffled quite a few feathers with his latest comment.

Several netizens believe that Bumrah may have taken a sly dig at his star Indian teammate Virat Kohli , who is famous for his aggressive and fiery nature.

Bumrah recently interacted with former Australian skipper Michael Clarke on his Beyond23 Cricket Podcast on YouTube.

During the discussion, Clarke asked Bumrah how he manages to remain calm and polite on the field even after bowling at such a high speed.

In reply, the ace pacer said: “I do have my competitive spirit and I do play to win. But I don’t want to cross the line and everybody plays cricket in a certain manner, which I also do. Yes, you have to be competitive, you want to give your best but you don’t have to be a clown. That is something I try not to be.”

Bumrah also shared how he learned the game while growing up, revealing that he didn’t have a formal coach and mostly learned by watching cricket on TV.

“I had seen bowlers trying to intimidate batters with their words and their bowling. I also tried doing that when I started playing, but it didn’t work for me,” he said.

“I do have aggression, but when I tried to act like that, I didn’t bowl well. I was just trying to bowl fast and my line and length was all over the place. I let my emotions take over and realised that this is not the best way. So, I try to control my aggression, drive it in a manner which is helpul for me.”

Even though Bumrah didn’t mention any names in the interview, many fans started wondering whether the fast bowler took a dig at Kohli. In fact, some Kohli fans also slammed Bumrah for the “clown” remark, saying he was indirectly insulting the former India captain.

Jasprit Bumrah is currently plying his trade in the IPL 2025, where he has picked up 18 wickets from 11 innings at an average of 15.33 and an economy of 6.36. He will be keen to continue his good form as Mumbai Indians will next face Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Qualifier 2 on June 1 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

If MI emerge victorious in this match, Bumrah will face Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the title clash on June 3 in Ahmedabad.