Congress' national spokesperson, Dr Shama Mohamed, created a stir on social media on Monday after she called Indian men's cricket team captain Rohit Sharma "fat." Although she deleted it instantly at her party's insistence, the controversial post drew flak from all corners, with Rohit's childhood coach fuming as he shamed Shama.
Shama's post came after Rohit was dismissed for just 15 runs off 17 balls in India's final group game in the ongoing 2025 Champions Trophy. Despite the 37-year-old leading the team to an emphatic 44-run win against the Black Caps as India roared to the semifinal on an unbeaten note, Shama criticised Rohit's captaincy and called him "fat."
In a now-deleted post, she wrote, “Rohit Sharma is fat for a sportsman! Need to lose weight! And of course the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had!”
In a separate post comparing Rohit to India's previous captains, Shama added: "What is so world-class about him when compared to his predecessors? He is a mediocre captain as well as a mediocre player who got lucky to be the captain of India."
The comments angered Indian cricket fraternity as Rohit's coach, Dinesh Lad, was rather left baffled at the statement, before he shamed Shama. Speaking to Republic TV, he said: "How can you say something like that about an international player? This is such a shameless thing to say. I don't mind whatever they said because we all know Rohit's potential and how he is leading the Indian team. I can't comment on this further."
Dr Shama Mohamed defends her comments
{{/usCountry}}The comments angered Indian cricket fraternity as Rohit's coach, Dinesh Lad, was rather left baffled at the statement, before he shamed Shama. Speaking to Republic TV, he said: "How can you say something like that about an international player? This is such a shameless thing to say. I don't mind whatever they said because we all know Rohit's potential and how he is leading the Indian team. I can't comment on this further."
Dr Shama Mohamed defends her comments
{{/usCountry}}Despite deleting the tweet and Congress clarifying that the comments do not reflect the party's official stance, Shama defended herself, saying that she only made a "generic" post on a player's fitness and that she did not intend to "body-shame" Rohit.
"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 just tweeted about that. I have been attacked for no reason. When I compared him with previous captains, I put in a statement. I have the right. What is wrong in saying? It is a democracy," she told news agency ANI.