NEW DELHI — Sanjana Ganesan, sports presenter and wife of India’s premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, has spoken out against social media trolls who targeted their young son, Angad, following his brief appearance during Sunday’s Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Wankhede Stadium.
Sanjana and their one-and-a-half-year-old son were at the stadium to support Bumrah, who delivered a stellar performance, taking four wickets in Mumbai Indians’ 54-run victory over the Lucknow Super Giants. During the game, cameras momentarily panned to Angad in the stands, capturing a few seconds of his expressions as Bumrah dismantled the opposition’s batting lineup.
However, the short clip quickly circulated on social media, with users commenting on Angad’s facial expressions. Some suggested the toddler appeared unimpressed by his father’s heroics, while others speculated about the “pressure” of having such a talented parent. One user quipped, “Bumrah picks a 4-fer and Angad is still not impressed,” while another commented, “By his expression, you can see the pressure of having a gifted dad. Being average isn’t an option.”
Outraged by the unwarranted attention and speculation surrounding her son, Sanjana took to Instagram to voice her disapproval, slamming the “opinionated keyboard warriors” who turned Angad into a “topic for entertainment.”
“Our son is NOT a topic for your entertainment,” Sanjana wrote in her Instagram story. “Jasprit and I do everything we can to keep Angad away from social media because the Internet is a despicable, vile place. I completely understand the implications of bringing a child to a cricket stadium filled with cameras, but we were there to support Jasprit, nothing else.”
She criticized those projecting assumptions about their son based on just a few seconds of footage. “We have no interest in our son becoming viral Internet content or national news, with unnecessarily opinionated keyboard warriors deciding who Angad is, what his problem is, or what his personality is based on three seconds of video.”
Sanjana further condemned the use of serious terms like “trauma” and “depression” in reference to a toddler, calling it a sad reflection of the current online environment. “He is one and a half years old. Throwing around words like trauma and depression about a baby says so much about who we’re becoming as a community. It’s honestly really sad.”
“You know NOTHING about our son, nothing about our lives, and I request you to keep your opinions online true to that. A little honesty and a little kindness go a long way in today’s world,” she added.
Bumrah, returning from a lower back injury that sidelined him earlier this year during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, missed the first four matches of the IPL season. He made his comeback in Mumbai Indians’ match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru earlier this month, and has since been in fine form.
While Bumrah’s on-field heroics continue to make headlines, Sanjana’s remarks have sparked broader conversations about the ethical boundaries of social media commentary, particularly when it involves the families of public figures. (Source: IANS)
