Commentator regrets calling Jasprit Bumrah ‘primates’

Cricket commentator Isa Guha has apologized for calling Indian bowler Jasprit Bumrah the “most valuable primate” in the third Test against Australia.

She made the remark while commentating for Fox Sports in Brisbane on Sunday after Bumrah gave India a stunning start with two quick wickets.

Her comment sparked a backlash on social media, which called the word’s history a racial slur.

On Monday, Guha apologized on air: “Yesterday in a comment I used a word that can be interpreted in different ways… I would like to apologize for any offense.”

Guha, who is also a BBC commentator and former England cricketer, had been speaking live with colleagues Brett Lee and Allan Border at the time of the controversy.

“Bumrah, today: five overs, 2-4. So that’s the tone and that’s what you expect from the ex-skipper,” Lee said.

Guha replied: “Well, he’s the MVP, isn’t he? (The) Most Valuable Primate, Jasprit Bumrah. He is the one who will do all the talking for India and why was there so much focus on him in the lineup” – until that Test match and whether he would be fit.

In her apology on Monday, she said: “I have set myself really high standards when it comes to empathy and respect for others and if you listen to the full transcript, I meant nothing but the highest praise for one of India’s greatest players and someone “I really admire that too,” she said.

She said she was “trying to convey the enormity of his achievements and I chose the wrong word and for that I am deeply sorry.”

“As someone who is also of South Asian descent, I hope people realize there is no other intent or malice behind it,” she said.

Former India coach Ravi Shastri, another Fox Sports commentator, praised them for the apology and urged India to “move on”.

“People have the right to make mistakes. We are all human. Owning up and saying ‘I’m sorry’… that takes courage. She did it.”

“The Indian team has a Test coming up and they want to concentrate on the game,” he said.

Bumrah continued his success on Monday and picked up his sixth wicket of the innings.

Accusations of racism are not uncommon in international cricket, while an independent report on cricket published last year found that racism, sexism, classism and elitism were “widespread” in the English and Welsh game.