New Delhi: Congress leader Dr. Shama Mohammad has come under fire for a social media post that attacked Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma following India’s World Cup match defeat. Cricket fans and political parties have lashed out at her remarks. Mohammad has however clarified her statement which she had made to justify her original claim that Rohit Sharma is an over-weight professional sportsperson.
The Controversial Remarks
Shama Mohammad on Sunday (March 2) tweeted ahead of the India-New Zealand match in the Champions Trophy, saying Rohit Sharma needs to get fit. Wrote — “Rohit Sharma is a fat player. He needs to lose weight! Needless to say, he is the most underwhelming captain of all India’s former skippers.”
While her comments evoked furious reactions, the controversy further escalated when a Pakistani journalist backed Rohit Sharma, terming him a “world-class” player. In response to this, Mohammad, further questioning Ramiz’s leadership, said, “World-class? Compare him with every former captain: Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid, Dhoni, Kohli, Kapil Dev, and Shastri. He is average in captaincy and average in batting but happened to be captain of India.
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 India team to great heights. It is his work and commitment to it that matters. Win the trophy, Champion!
— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) March 3, 2025
Indian cricket fans exploded against Mohammad on social media, using statistics and Rohit Sharma’s captaincy record as talking points against him. Praise started pouring in as some compared his winning percentage as captain of India, while others pointed out his contributions to Indian cricket.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also joined the controversy, with party spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari challenging Mohammad’s statement. He went on to say, “Is Congress going to play Rahul Gandhi in cricket now? Read Also This is an insult to each patriotic Indian.
Within the opposition alliance, several voices also disassociated themselves from Mohammad’s remarks. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, also on ‘X,’ said, “I may not be a cricket nut,, but with minimal interest in it, I can definitely say whether Rohit Sharma has put on pounds; he has taken the Indian team to new heights. It just shows his commitment,” he said.
SP Shama Mohammad rebuttal
As criticism poured in from all directions, Mohammad attempted to clarify her stance, stating that her tweet about the players’ fitness was merely an observation rather than a body shaming. In defence of her comments, she tweeted, “It was a very generic fitness tweet. I thought he was overweight so I said so. I am expressing my opinion hate for no reason. Similarly, my comparison with ex-captains was misunderstood. We are still human beings living in a democracy, and I am simply expressing my opinions.
#WATCH | On her comment on Indian Cricket team captain Rohit Sharma, Congress leader Shama Mohammed says, “It was a generic tweet about the fitness of a sportsperson. It was not body-shaming. I always believed a sportsperson should be fit, and I felt he was a bit overweight, so I… pic.twitter.com/OBiLk84Mjh
— ANI (@ANI) March 3, 2025