Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed stirred controversy on Sunday when she personally targeted Indian Cricket Team’s Captain Rohit Sharma, questioning his leadership and fitness. Reacting to India’s Champions Trophy match against New Zealand, she criticized Rohit’s performance, calling him “fat” and a “mediocre captain” in a now-deleted social media post.
She further compared Sharma unfavorably to cricketing legends like Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid, Dhoni, Kohli, Kapil Dev, and Shastri. “What is so world-class about him? He is a mediocre captain and player who got lucky to lead India,” she added.
Following massive backlash, Shama defended her remarks, arguing that she was merely questioning Rohit’s leadership decisions. She cited the 2020 MCG Test against Australia, where he promoted himself to the opening spot, displacing KL Rahul to No. 3 and leaving Shubman Gill out of the XI—a move she deemed “selfish” and counterproductive. She also pointed to India’s World Cup final loss in Ahmedabad under his captaincy.
Speaking to ANI, Shama insisted her comments were not meant to body-shame the cricketer but were instead about an athlete’s fitness. “It was a generic statement. Sportspersons should be fit, and I felt he was a bit overweight. I don’t see anything wrong with expressing my opinion in a democracy,” she said.
#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
BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla hit back immediately, slamming the Congress party for its electoral losing streak.
“Those who have lost 90 elections under Rahul Gandhi’s captaincy are calling Rohit Sharma unimpressive!” he said.
Pooanawalla provided additional context to his attacks on Rohit, citing his T20 World Cup victory and comparing it to the Congress party’s failure at the political level.
Meanwhile, on the field, India blew the critics away by winning their game against New Zealand with an impressive 44-run victory to occupy the top position in Group A. Shreyas Iyer’s scintillating knock of 79 runs, ably supported by Varun Chakravarthy’s fifer to secure the man of the Match set up a thrilling semifinals against Australia. On a funny side, it has led to a field day for memers with the ghost of Travis Head still haunting Indian Cricket Team fans.
