'His bum is a bit big, no?' R Ashwin involved in hilarious exchange on SA captain Temba Bavuma's 'glutes' originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- R Ashwin and Indian-origin Australian cricket journalist Bharat Sundaresan were involved in a hilarious exchange while discussing South Africa captain Temba Bavuma.
- The chat happened on Ashwin’s YouTube channel in Tamil.
- Ashwin poked fun at Sundaresan after he hilariously struggled to describe how Bavuma's strong glutes helped his technique as a batter.
R Ashwin and Bharat Sundaresan share hilarious exchange on Temba Bavuma’s glutes'
R Ashwin found himself struggling to contain both shock and laughter during a conversation with Australian cricket journalist Bharat Sundaresan about South Africa captain Temba Bavuma.
Sundaresan, who was born in India, is ethnically Tamil and frequently converses with Ashwin in Tamil on the former Indian cricketer’s YouTube channel. Their conversations can take a humorous turn, particularly when Sundaresan searches for the right words to express himself.
That's because Sundaresan evidently isn't as fluent in Tamil as he is in English. So it's bound to create some hilarious moments like this one.
Sundaresan is currently covering the Australian cricket team's tour of South Africa, where the Proteas captain had made a significant contribution in the second Test at Gqeberha, scoring 179 as South Africa recovered from a difficult start to declare at 425/9.
The hosts went on to win by an innings and 31 runs, levelling the three-match series at 1-1.
Sundaresan began by praising Bavuma’s preparation, saying the South African captain had spent nearly six to seven hours practising in the nets and working on his technique. However, the conversation took an unexpected turn when he tried to find the right words to describe Bavuma’s physique.
"I don't know how to say this but his backside... his bum is a bit big, no? I don't know the right word for it," Sundaresan said.
Ashwin intervenes to save the embarrassment
Ashwin immediately intervened after initially being taken aback by Sundaresan's wording.
"It would sound ugly if you put it this way," he joked before using a more technical way of describing what Sundaresan was attempting to say.
"That's why he's quick on the turf. Lightning in his field. He's got a very strong glute," Ashwin added.
Sundaresan agreed with the explanation, but the exchange became even funnier when couldn't move on from the remark even as the journalist attempted to return to the subject of Bavuma’s batting technique.
The journalist agreed that "glutes" was a better way to put it; he continued to explain his point about Bavuma's physique and wide stance.
But Ashwin, still amused by the earlier remark, interrupted him. He was not ready to let Sundaresan's original description pass without another joke.
"Look, please don't do this to me. The way you said it, 'His backside was big, bum part,' it seems. You've been travelling with the team for so long. Can't you call it glutes?" Ashwin asked, joking of course.
Sundaresan then attempted to clarify what he meant, explaining that he was referring to Bavuma’s shape rather than simply naming the muscle.
"That's correct. But glutes is still the muscle, I'm talking about the shape. Okay, anyway, leave all that," he responded.
The clarification did little to help Sundaresan return to his original point.
Who is Bharat Sundaresan?
Bharat Sundaresan is an award-winning cricket journalist, commentator and author. He has worked with The Indian Express and is associated with Cricbuzz as its Australian correspondent and senior writer.
He has also worked as a commentator and authored "The Dhoni Touch," a book about former India captain MS Dhoni. You can find him on X as beastieboy07.
Sundaresan featured on Ashwin's YouTube channel during the Ashes; now, during the South Africa series and he is expected to be featured more, with the India vs Australia series scheduled for early 2027.
Do strong glutes make you run faster?
Yes, according to Runner's World's Elizabeth Millard, who wrote:
"While having strong leg muscles is important when it comes to sprinting, they’re not the biggest driver for launching off the blocks faster or having a speedier end-of-race kick, a recent study (2020) in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise suggests. Instead, it’s all about the glutes."
The gluteal muscles play an important role in running speed, particularly during acceleration and sprinting. The gluteus maximus helps extend the hip and contributes to generating force as a runner pushes off the ground, while other gluteal muscles help stabilise the hips during movement.
However, having larger glutes does not automatically make someone faster. Sprinting ability also depends on muscle strength, coordination, running technique, stride frequency, and the contribution of other muscles, including the hamstrings and hip flexors.
In this case, Ashwin's remark was that Bavuma's strong glutes aligns with good running biomechanics, although that alone may not explain his speed on the field.
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