SA vs IND: ‘When you play for your country, you are not going to back down for anyone’ : Marco Jansen on his altercation with Bumrah

South Africa’s emerging pacer Marco Jansen has made it crystal clear that there is absolutely no need of backing down from an altercation when a player is representing his country. Jansen was involved in a heated on-field altercation with his Indian counterpart Jasprit Bumrah in the recently-concluded three-match Test series.

Meanwhile, Marco Jansen has also said that he and Bumrah are ‘good friends’. The duo was a part of the five-time winners Mumbai’ pace battery in Indian T20 League 2021.

“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”, said Marco Jansen during a virtual press conference.

“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”, he added.

Things got a bit uglier between Marco Jansen and Jasprit Bumrah during the second Test match at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg last week when the former took the Indian pace spearhead by surprise by bowling aggressive bouncers.

In the following Test match, Jasprit Bumrah got his revenge when he castled Marco Jansen with a wonderful delivery and then gave him a stare as the tail-ender headed back to the pavilion.

The two pacers would be looking forward to renewing their rivalry when South Africa and India lock horns in a three-match ODI series starting January 19 at Boland Park in Paarl.