Congress’s Shama Mohamed Defends ‘Rohit Sharma Is Fat’ Remark Amid Big Row: ‘In A Democracy…’
Congress spokesperson Dr Shama Mohamed deleted her post calling Indian captain Rohit Sharma “fat" and “unimpressive" following massive backlash. In a now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter), she said, “Rohit Sharma is fat for a sportsman! Need to lose weight! And of course the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had!"
Despite the outrage, Mohamed doubled down on her criticism, defending her stance by comparing Rohit to past Indian captains. She questioned his decision-making, stating, “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.
Even as her remarks sparked a heated debate, Mohamed continued her attack, calling Rohit a “mediocre player" and a “mediocre captain". In another post, she argued, “What is so world class about him when compared to his predecessors like Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid, Dhoni, Kohli, Kapil Dev, Shastri and the rest! He is a mediocre captain as well as a mediocre player who got lucky to be the Captain of India."
“It was just a generic tweet about the fitness of a sportsperson. It is not body shaming. It is about the fitness of a sportsperson. I always believe a sports person has to be fit. So, I felt he is a bit overweight, so I tweeted on that. I am being attacked for no reason," Mohamed told ANI.
She added, “When I compared him to other captains like Dhoni, or for that matter Ganguly, Dravid, Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, and Virat, so I put up a statement."
She went on to say, “It [India] is a democracy. I have the right," asking, “What’s wrong in saying?"
Shama Mohamed defended herself by praising Virat Kohli, recalling how he stood by Mohammed Shami when the pacer faced backlash after India’s loss to Pakistan. “Let’s not forget how Virat Kohli was attacked when he supported his teammate Mohammed Shami. They lost against Pakistan and most of them started attacking Shami, and Virat, being the captain, stood by his teammate," Shama Mohamed praised Virat Kohli.
She further highlighted Kohli’s leadership, saying, “Virat Kohli, whenever there is a youngster who catches a ball in a match, he goes and hugs him. He leads from the front. He scores runs. He is a captain of the team, and he always compliments the other person whenever there is an opponent who does well. Virat Kohli compliments them.
“I just spoke in a generic manner and I failed to understand that in a democracy we don’t have the right to speak in such a manner," the Congress leader defended herself.
This, however, is 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 told
InsideSport in December last year.
Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed has now deleted her social media post, where she not only fat-shamed Rohit Sharma but also called him unimpressive.
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