If Jasprit Bumrah plays Badminton with me, maybe he won't be able to take my smash: Saina Nehwal

Ace Indian badminton player Saina Nehwal recently opened up on the ongoing debate about the dominance of cricket in India's sporting culture. Her comments on the physical demands of other sports compared to cricket have stirred controversy.

India's sports culture has long been dominated by cricket, often overlooking other sports. Nehwal, a 2012 London Olympics Bronze medallist, has been a vocal advocate for greater recognition and support for non-cricketing sport events in the country.

Nehwal initially said that sports like badminton, tennis, and basketball are physically more demanding than cricket. This drew criticism from cricket fans, including young Kolkata Knight Riders batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who made a controversial social media post challenging Nehwal to face fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.  

“Let's see how she goes when Bumrah bowls 150k's bumper at her head,” Angkrish had written on X, formerly known as Twitter. In response, the star athlete addressed the comparison directly.

“Why would I face Jasprit Bumrah anyways? If I had been playing for 8 years maybe I would have answered Jasprit Bumrah,” Nehwal said on Shubhankar Mishra's podcast.

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Cricket is more of a skill-based sport: Saina

The badminton champion also highlighted the need for a more inclusive sporting culture in India. She advocated of not fighting within our country and look to take the sporting culture forward.

“If Jasprit Bumrah plays badminton with me maybe he won't be able to take my smash. We should not fight with ourselves in our own country for these things. That's what I want to say (earlier). Every sport is best in its place. But I want to say, give value to other sports as well. Otherwise, where will we get sporting culture from? And cricket, Bollywood will always be our focus,” she added.

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Nehwal acknowledged the exceptional skills of cricket stars like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma but maintained that their level of excellence is rare and should not diminish the achievements in other sports.

“How will you become Virat (Kohli) at that level? How will you become Rohit Sharma? So many players have to become like them. They can't. Only a few of them are like that. But I just feel that it's more of a skill-based sport. And bowlers, I agree. I won't die there,” she concluded.