NEW DELHI: Congress on Monday pulled up its leader Shama Mohamed over her remarks about India’s men’s cricket captain Rohit Sharma. Congress leader Pawan Khera said that Shama had been asked to delete her social media posts and exercise greater caution in the future.
“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,” Khera said.
He also added that the party holds sporting icons in the highest regard and does not endorse any statements undermining their legacy.
The controversy erupted after Mohamed took to social media on Sunday during India’s match against New Zealand in the ongoing Champions Trophy. She labelled Rohit Sharma as “fat” and described him as a “mediocre captain.”
“Rohit Sharma is fat for a sportsman! Needs to lose weight! And of course, the most unimpressive captain India has ever had!” she wrote in a now-deleted post.
She further questioned Sharma’s abilities compared to past cricketing greats such as Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli. “What is so world-class about him when compared to his predecessors like Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid, Dhoni, Kohli, Kapil Dev, Shastri & the rest? He is a mediocre captain as well as a mediocre player who got lucky to be the captain of India.”
Also read: Congress leader fat-shames Rohit Sharma in post, deletes it later
After facing widespread backlash, Shama defended her remarks, citing Sharma’s decision-making during key matches, including the Test series against Australia and India’s World Cup loss in Ahmedabad.
“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, Shubman 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,” she wrote.
Speaking to ANI, Shama insisted her comments were not intended to shame the Indian captain but were a general observation about athlete fitness. “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,” she said.
“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 added.
