Sanjana Ganesan delivers Sunil Gavaskar and Cheteshwar Pujara's plea to Jasprit Bumrah: 'Please play all five'

When a cricketing legend needs persuasion, who better than his wife to deliver it? Sanjana Ganesan’s playful message to Jasprit Bumrah has gone viral during India’s Test series in England, reminding fans both of her role as his biggest supporter and her own impressive career off the pitch.

After all, behind every great bowler is a great support system, and in Jasprit Bumrah’s case, that system is his wife, Sanjana Ganesan. A Symbiosis Institute gold-medalist and former software engineer, Sanjana spun towards the media after shining as a Miss India finalist.

Today, she is one of India’s most recognizable sports presenters, anchoring events from the ICC World Cup to the IPL. Recently, fans caught a glimpse of her playful side during a viral pre-Test chat in Leeds, where she ‘delivered a message’ from cricketing greats urging Bumrah to play all five Tests—a conversation he diplomatically postponed.

Leeds laughter goes viral: ‘Don’t shoot the messenger’

On Day 4 of the India vs. England Test at Headingley, Sony Sports released a clip of Sanjana Ganesan teasing Bumrah's on-field workload. In the video clip shared on X (formerly Twitter), Ganesan conveyed an earnest request from veteran teammates Cheteshwar Pujara and Sunil Gavaskar.

“There is a request from upstairs, from Pujara and Gavaskar. Don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just telling you: ‘Jasprit, please play all five (Tests), please, please, please!’” she said, adopting a mock-serious tone.

However, the only reply she got in return was a quick, “That’s a conversation for another day.” His response fit the moment perfectly: gracious yet noncommittal, leaving fans to wonder whether he will feature in the full series.

From code to cricket commentary: Who is Sanjana Ganesan?

While Bumrah commands the pitch, Sanjana Ganesan has carved her own niche in Indian sports broadcasting. Born in Pune on May 6, 1991, Sanjana is a B.Tech gold medalist from Symbiosis Institute of Technology, as per First Post.

She began her career as a software engineer but soon shifted to the media world. After reaching the finals of Femina Miss India 2013 and competing on MTV’s Splitsvilla, she landed at Star Sports in 2014. 

Ganesan’s lively presence soon made her a fixture on major cricket broadcasts: she hosted the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup and the ICC T20 World Cup.

How did Jasprit Bumrah meet Sanjana Ganesan? A love story bowled over by chance

Their paths first crossed during the 2013-14 IPL season when Sanjana interviewed the rookie pacer. Although their initial impressions of each other were less than favorable, they later reconnected during the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, as reported by the mentioned publication.

After two years of dating, they married privately on March 15, 2021, in Goa. The ceremony was kept under wraps until Sanjana shared images on her Instagram post-wedding. The couple welcomed their first child, a son named Angad Jasprit Bumrah, on September 4, 2023.

ALSO READ: Rohit Sharma’s wife Ritika Sajdeh’s ‘cartoon’ joke for Yuzvendra Chahal sparks social media outrage