Sunil Gavaskar goes viral for wrong reasons after ‘who needs more protection’ remark on Bumrah, Arshdeep, Harshit

Former Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar, who has now transitioned to commentary, has consistently kept fans engaged in the best possible way. He went viral for his hilarious remarks about the Indian bowlers, which sparked social media to erupt in laughter.

Indian bowlers were also hammered during the final T20I against New Zealand. Except for Axar Patel, all bowlers went for an economy of over 9, and the match would end as the worst ever in Jasprit Bumrah’s career. The Player of the tournament from the previous edition of the T20 World Cup has not been at his very best over the last year.

While the fifth match marked a very high-scoring saga with nearly 500 runs being scored across the two innings, it exposed India’s weaknesses with the ball. Scores like 271 are not a every day thing, hence, it is a concern if Indian bowlers fail to tighten the shackles against a promising batting opposition.

Sunil Gavaskar’s hilarious remarks on Indian bowlers needing ‘protection’

When Jasprit Bumrah returned with his second over, Sunil Gavaskar was in the commentary box and made a hilarious double-meaning statement, which has now been discussed widely over social media platforms.

Sunil Gavaskar poses a hilarious question: “Who needs more protection? Does Bumrah need more protection, or does an Arshdeep or Harshit need more protection?”

But what made this entire conversation divert to a hilarious thing was how Sunil Gavaskar corrected himself by following the above-mentioned words with a quirky statement, “Outside the 30m circle, I mean.”

Though the great’s intention was to keep the question limited to the prospect of cricket, social media and Indian fans have received it with some humour on their end. They have also highlighted the second statement from Sunil Gavaskar, which worsened the questions. Laughter and fun comments have filled the internet after this was released on platforms like X.

Sunil gavaskar not holding back 😭 pic.twitter.com/YVzkB1rsHy

— lakshman (@rebel_notout) January 31, 2026

Jasprit Bumrah went for 50+ runs in a T20I innings for the first time since 2022

India’s greatest ever pacer of this decade, Jasprit Bumrah, who was seen in his prime in the year 2024, has once again been affected by injuries, and despite a return in 2025, Bumrah has not been the beast he was in the last few years.

Jasprit Bumrah had a silent series in England despite some five-wicket hauls and failed to take control in the recent series they lost to the Proteas at home. Bumrah also did not have the finest of tours to Australia.

However, the New Zealand tour’s final match marked the biggest blow to the confidence of the seasoned Indian star. He was hit for 58 runs in his 4 overs and also went wicketless in the match. This is the first time since 2022 that Bumrah has been hit for more than 50 runs in a T20 game.

Arshdeep Singh’s stunning comeback with a five-wicket haul

On the contrary, India’s highest wicket-taking bowler in the shortest format of the game, Arshdeep Singh, made a stunning comeback in the match after being smashed in the first two overs of his spell.

Arshdeep Singh was the main target of batters Finn Allen and Tim Seifert; however, when Singh returned with his second spell, he was unstoppable with the ball. Arshdeep opened his account with Seifert’s wicket in the very first over.

In his second spell, he picked the crucial wickets of Rachin Ravindra and Mitchell Santner in the same over and then returned with another double strike, dismissing Kyle Jamieson and Daryl Mitchell in his final over. He completed a five-for after having given away 51 runs in the 4 overs.

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