England cricketer Ben Duckett copped trolling on social media for making comments that nothing from Jasprit Bumrah will surprise him in a distant Test series against India in June.
Duckett stated that as he faced the Indian pace sensation in the five-match series in India early in 2024, he knows what Bumrah brings to the table. “I’ve faced him (Bumrah) in a five-Test series before. I know what he’s going to do to me, and the good thing about that is I know what skills he has,” Duckett said in an interview with Daily Mail.
“There’s going to be nothing that surprises me. It’s going to be challenging, and the red-ball skills of Mohammed Shami are just as threatening as Bumrah. But if I can get through that opening spell, I feel there are runs to be had,” he added.
Meanwhile, Duckett defended his comments on Bumrah on social media, stating that he had never said that he would do well against the Indian speedster. Subsequently, the England opener has now reportedly deactivated his X account.
There have been other instances too when Duckett has made a few controversial comments on the Indian team and its players. During England’s recent white-ball tour to India in the build-up to the Champions Trophy 2025, Duckett had said that losing to India didn’t matter as long as the Three Lions could beat them in the Champions Trophy final.
“If we lose 3-0 to India, I don’t care as long as we beat them in the final of the Champions Trophy,” Duckett had said during the ODI series ahead of the 50-over Champions Trophy.
Meanwhile, the English cricketer had made a controversial comment on star batter Yashasvi Jaiswal. Taking note of Jaiswal’s ultra-aggressive batting approach that countered England’s bazball, Duckett had said that the England batters ‘should take some credit’ for it.
“When you see players from the opposition playing like that, it almost feels like we should take some credit that they’re playing differently than how other people play Test cricket,” Duckett had said during the Test series against India.
He was criticised for his comments and later justified his statement. “It was actually me paying him a nice compliment. I’m pretty sure I said he was a world-class player, but no one spoke about that. Would I have said what I did during the fifth Test? No, because he played like that throughout the whole series, and he was incredible,” Duckett said on DailyMail.
