Indian badminton legend Saina Nehwal has retracted her earlier comments about cricket not being as difficult as badminton and other sports. She also responded to Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who pointed out her comment and claimed how she would play against Jasprit Bumrah’s 150 kmph bumper.

Indian badminton star Saina Nehwal has come under fire recently following her comments on a podcast. She claimed that cricket gets all the attention in India, but other sports (badminton, basketball, tennis and others) are much more physically demanding than cricket, which requires skill.

After Saina Nehwal said that cricket is less difficult than badminton and other sports, young Kolkata Knight Riders player Angkrish Raghuvanshi stole the limelight with his response, which included Jasprit Bumrah’s name. The young batsman took to his Twitter account and said, “Let’s see how she fares when Jasprit Bumrah bowls a 150km bumper on her head.”

However, Angkrish Raghuvanshi later deleted his comment but received a lot of criticism for his comments. He later admitted that he did make those comments but it was an immature joke. He also said that he had realized his mistake and apologized for what he said.

Saina Nehwal, who is also under pressure for her comments, clarified the matter and stated that both cricket and badminton are tough sports even though there is a risk of death in cricket. She stressed that all sports are tough and everyone should have the fitness to play at this level. While speaking on Shubankar Mishra’s podcast, she explained:

“Will you play cricket to die? First of all, that’s not my point. We are not talking about dying because death is coming to a very extreme point. You are not going to the army to fight somewhere. This is a game, to win or lose, you are playing to make your country proud. So I am not going into that.

“Badminton is not just the toughest sport. I am not saying it is the toughest. I have included tennis, swimming and all the tough sports. I have mentioned the tough ones too. Do you think that without being tough, cricket will be fun to play? Is football not tough? All sports are tough. I mean comparatively, the game, when you are batting, is more skill-based. I have not said that if you are not fit, how will you play at that level?”

If Jasprit Bumrah plays badminton with me, he may not be able to handle my shot – Saina Nehwal

Saina Nehwal also gave a strong reply to Angkrish Raghuvanshi. She claimed that if she had played cricket for eight years, she would have played against Jasprit Bumrah and if the player had played badminton, she would not have been able to take her shot. She said:

“How will you become Virat at that level? How will you become Rohit Sharma? A lot of players have to be like them. They can’t. Only a few are like that. But I feel it’s more of a skill-based sport. And the bowlers, I agree. I won’t die there. Why would I face Jasprit Bumrah anyway? If I had been playing for 8 years maybe Jasprit Bumrah would have answered.

“If Jasprit Bumrah plays badminton with me, he may not be able to hit a shot against me. We should not fight among ourselves in our own country over these things. That’s what I mean. Every sport is better in its place. But I mean that other sports should also be valued. Otherwise, where will we get sports culture from? And cricket and Bollywood will always be our focus,” he concluded.