Congress leader and spokesperson Shama Mohamed has sparked controversy, and is being widely criticized after her remarks on Indian Cricket team’s captain Rohit Sharma. She has called the skipper “fat for a sportsperson”, further labelling him as “the most unimpressive captain India has ever had.”
Taking to her social media handle later on Sunday, Shama Mohamed took on criticizing Rohit Sharma on his fitness and pointing out on his captaincy. She wrote, “@ImRo45 is fat for a sportsman! Need to lose weight! And of course, the most unimpressive captain India has ever had.” She even went on to compare the present skipper to former captains Virat Kohli, Saurav Ganguly, and Kapil Dev, calling Rohit as a “mediocre captain” who got lucky to become one.
Shama Mohamed’s remarks faced heavy backlash and were criticized badly. These left cricket fans outraged all over, even the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) swiftly took over condemning the leader’s statement. BJP accused her of body-shaming a World cup winner. One of the leaders of BJP, Radhika Khera who was earlier in Congress, said, “This is the same Congress that humiliated athletes for decades, denied them recognition, and now dares to mock a cricketing legend? The party that thrives on nepotism is now lecturing a self-made champion.” Further talking about the party and Jai Ram Ramesh, Khera said, “Congress should worry about its own sinking dynast before taking cheap shots at India’s pride.”
One user commented, “Rohit is going through a tough time today, so it’s not right to criticize him for his weight. He has played many wonderful innings for the country.” Another one wrote, “Absolutely rubbish statement. Rohit is a legend in the one-day and T20 formats and one of the best cricketing captains in the world. If he can run between wickets for 50 overs, take sharp catches, and average over 50 in the one-day format. He is fit.”
While one netizen even took a dig at the Congress party saying, “I don’t understand what the Congress party looks for when choosing its spokesperson. Some of them are neither sensible nor practical and seem out of touch with the times. In India, cricket is like a religion and cricketers are treated with great respect. Millions of people support them and pray for their success. But when a national spokesperson makes unnecessary remarks- and passes judgements- especially about something they have no knowledge of and which has nothing to do with politics- it just doesn’t makes sense. Be logical, be practical.”
Not only the common users, Senior Journalist Rajdeep Sardesai also joined the debate, questioning the intent behind such comments. He wrote, “Most ‘unimpressive’ captain India has ever had, @drshamamohd? Really ma’am? Where did that completely bizarre remark come from? I have played a little cricket and can tell you, as a long- time observer, that @ImRo45 makes some first class decisions that show he has a superb cricket brain. He has won multiple IPL titles as a captain and has led a white-ball team that’s the best in the world. In my opinion, 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, not his kilos please.)”
Shama Mohamed responded to Sardesai’s comment saying she was only comparing Rohit to previous captains. She said, “Didn’t he move KL Rahul to bat at No.3 in the MCG Test and put himself at number 1, which backfired totally? Wasn’t that a selfish move? Because of that Shubhman 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 also defended her statement, where she told ANI, “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.”
In the meanwhile, Congress has distanced itself from Shama Mohamed’s remark claiming that certain remarks do not reflect party’s position. It has asked her to delete the post advising her to exercise greater caution in the future. Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera said, “The Indian National Congress holds the contributions of sporting ions in the highest regard and does not endorse any statements that undermine their legacy.”
Shama Mohamed’s statements came after India’s 44 run victory over New Zealand in their last group stage fixture match of the Champions Trophy on Sunday. India has now marched to the semi-finals and will face Australia in the first semi-final match scheduled on Tuesday.