Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 3: An unsolicited remark by a Congress spokesperson against the Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma, which found support from a Trinamool Congress MP but not endorsed by the Congress, has taken both the sports and the political worlds by storm.
Congress spokesperson Dr Shama Mohamed criticised Indian captain Rohit Sharma, calling him “overweight” and “the most unimpressive captain India has ever had.” Her remarks came after Rohit was dismissed for 15 runs off 17 balls in Sunday’s Champions Trophy match against New Zealand in Dubai, which India won by 44 runs.
After Mohamed’s comment ignited a heated debate on social media, with many including BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla responding and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) terming her remark as “unfortunate” and “shaming the country,” she deleted her post under instructions from the Congress high command.
Poonawalla claimed that those who once opposed the country are now targeting the Indian cricket team. He went on to say that the Congress, which brands itself as “Mohabbat ki dukan [shop of love]”, is actually “Nafrat ke bhaijan [Messengers of hate].” Dr Shama Mohamed, in a now-deleted post, said, “Rohit Sharma is fat for a sportsman! Need to lose weight! And of course the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had!”
“Dr Shama Mohammed, National Spokesperson of the Indian National Congress, made certain remarks about a cricketing legend that do not reflect the party’s position. She has been asked to delete the concerned social media posts from X and has been advised to exercise greater caution in the future,” Pawan Khera, Indian National Congress Party’s chairman of media and publicity department, said.
He added, “The Indian National Congress holds the contributions of sporting icons in the highest regard and does not endorse any statements that undermine their legacy.”
She, however, found support from Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Roy. He said the Congress spokesperson had not said anything wrong about the skipper, whose “performance has been quite poor.” In turn, she endorsed his reaction to the controversy long after the Congress reprimanded her and asked her to remove her social media posts on Monday.
“I heard that Rohit Sharma’s performance has been quite poor. He scored one century, but other than that, he gets out after scoring 2, 3, 4, or 5 runs. He shouldn’t be in the team. India wins because the other players play well, but the captain doesn’t contribute much…” Roy said, when asked to respond to Mohamed’s “fat-shaming” of Sharma.
Responding to a post praising Sharma, Mohamed had asked what was so world class about the current captain when compared to his predecessors like Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri and the rest.
The BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia slammed Shama for her remarks, calling them unfortunate especially at a time when Rohit is set to captain India against Australia in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy on Tuesday. “It’s very unfortunate that this kind of remark for our captain (Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma) has come from a person who is on a responsible post, especially at a time when Team India is playing an ICC tournament and the team is all set to play the semi-final match,” Saikia said.
Poonawalla mocked Congress, pointing out that those who lost 90 elections under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership have no ground to call Rohit “unimpressive.” “Those who have lost 90 elections under the captaincy of Rahul Gandhi are calling the captaincy of Rohit Sharma unimpressive!” said Poonawalla. He added, “I guess 6 ducks in Delhi and 90 election losses is impressive but winning the T20 World Cup isn’t! Rohit has a brilliant track record as captain by the way!”
“While opposing India, its institutions, and its armed forces – while repeatedly saying they are against the Indian state – Congress has now turned against the Indian team as well,” said Poonawalla. He added, “The kind of remarks Congress leaders have made about Rohit Sharma’s body are indeed body shaming and fat shaming, but they also prove that Congress is not ‘Mohabbat ki dukan [shop of love]’, but rather ‘Nafrat ke bhaijan [Messengers of hate]’ – in fact, ‘Apmaan ke bhaijaan [Messengers of Insult]’.”
Poonawalla compared Congress’s electoral failures under Rahul Gandhi to their criticism of Rohit Sharma, highlighting the irony of questioning a successful captain while facing repeated defeats themselves. “They are irritated and disgusted by anything that symbolises India’s success. Those questioning Rohit Sharma’s captaincy and track record are the same ones who lost 90 elections under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership; the same leadership that resulted in six ‘ducks’ in Delhi,” Poonawalla further said.
“Take care of your own ducks and your own captain. There isn’t even a situation to judge what is impressive or unimpressive there. And yet, the person under whom we have won 100 out of 140 matches, and under whose captaincy we won the T20 World Cup, is being called unimpressive. This reflects Congress’s core mindset. They oppose India, its institutions, and any success or achievement of the country. That’s why, when India defeated Pakistan and New Zealand, the Congress party was furious and started spewing venom against the nation,” he concluded.
“Most ‘unimpressive’ captain India has ever had Dr Shama Mohamed? Really ma’am, where did that completely bizarre remark come from?” asked journalist Rajdeep Sardesai. He added, “I have played a little cricket and can tell you purely as a long-time observer that Rohit Sharma makes some first class decisions that show he has a superb cricket brain.
“He has won multiple IPL titles as captain and has led a white ball team that’s the best in the world. IMHO, Rohit Sharma has been a wonderful captain for Team India, someone who leads from the front and plays a fearless brand of cricket in white ball games.” “On weight, judge a player by the runs he scores and not his kilos please,” Sardesai went on to say.
After her statement calling Rohit Sharma “fat” and “unimpressive”, backfired, she quoted Rajdeep Sardesai’s post and questioned, “Didn’t he move KL Rahul to bat at number 3 at the MCG Test & put himself at number 1 which backfired totally! Wasn’t that a selfish move? Because of that, Shubam Gill was out of the XI.” “Didn’t we lose the last World Cup which took place in Ahmedabad? I have compared him to our previous captains,” the Congress spokesperson went on to say.
“Not an avid cricket fan, however even with my limited interest in the game, I can say that Rohit Sharma – with extra pounds of weight or without it, has led Indian team to great heights. It is his work and commitment to it that matters. Win the trophy, Champion!” Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said.
BJP leader Amit Malviya slammed Shama Mohamed and said the grand old party’s “disdain” for the Indian icons is out on display. “The Congress, which has lost over 90 elections under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, is now body shaming the Indian cricket captain, at a time when our national team is in pursuit of the Champions Trophy! This is a premeditated put down to undermine the team’s morale at a crucial time. Their disdain for our icons is apparent. They resent a self-confident India,” Malviya said on X.
The BJP wasn’t alone in criticising Congress. Social media users also slammed the party for fat-shaming the Indian captain. “For a ‘fat’ sportsman, he has more victories than Rahul Gandhi, and the ‘fat’ sportsman is able to rally confidence not just in his team but of the entire India. This is the kind of tolerance a party representative has where physical appearance trumps talent, says a lot!” said one social media user Harish.
Another added, “Rahul Gandhi: Flexing those muscles, but still can’t flex a win.” “Rohit Sharma 72% win percentage in all formats! Rahul Gandhi 6% win percentage in 100 elections,” commented a third.
A fourth, who said he was not a fan of the player, posted, “That’s absolutely not acceptable to say to one of the country’s best white ball player. And with that same body he had scored tons of runs. Respect isn’t needed, at least don’t degrade the players.”
The Congress spokesperson faced the backlash even though it was not the first time that Indian Captain Rohit Sharma has been fat-shamed. Former South African cricketer Daryll Cullinan raised concerns about Rohit Sharma’s fitness and even compared him to Virat Kohli. “Look at Rohit, then at Virat. Notice the difference in their physical condition. Rohit is overweight, and not a long-term cricketer anymore. Rohit is not in a good physical condition to play in a four or a five-match Test series,” Cullinan had said in December last year.
