South Africa left-arm speedster Marco Jansen has shared his views on his on-field altercation with India’s pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah in the recently-concluded Test series. He again said that they were acting in the heat of the moment as well.
However, Bumrah and Jansen were part of the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year. But, they were involved in a heated altercation in the 2nd Test. While Jansen gave bouncers in reply to Bumrah’s short balls at him before both got involved in a heated exchange as well during the second innings, Bumrah stared at him after dismissing him in the first innings of the third Test.
“Obviously, it felt good to have gotten a chance in the Test team and then to contribute to the side’s cause. I did not expect to do that well in the series. Very glad that we won the series 2-1. India has not won a Test series in our conditions, glad that we could maintain that record,” Marco Jansen said during a virtual press conference.
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“The first innings of the first Test sums it up really well. I did not start the way I wanted to and I was very nervous. It is normal for every player to get nervous. Off the field, I am a chill guy, I am an introvert but when I am on the field, I want to express myself,” he again shared. “I love this sport, I have wanted to play since I was a child. All the emotions show how much love and passion I have for the game. Obviously, I played with Jasprit Bumrah in the IPL, we are good friends but sometimes on the field, things get heated.”
“You play for your country, you are not going to back down for anyone and obviously, he plays the same way as well. There are no hard feelings, it just happened in the heat of the moment (on altercation with Bumrah in the Johannesburg Test),” he continued.
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“Obviously, we are taking momentum from the Test series into the ODIs. But we are not underestimating India at all, India is one of the best teams in the world so we have to bring our A-game. We are looking to take the fight to them. We have to be as prepared as we can, a series win against India would be big,” Marco Jansen concluded.
However, South Africa have won the three-match Test series 2-1 and both teams will take on each other in a three-match ODI series, with the first match being played on Wednesday in Paarl.
