'Needs to lose weight': Congress leader fat-shames Rohit Sharma in post, deletes it later

NEW DELHI: Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed on late Sunday questioned the leadership of Indian men's national cricket team captain Rohit Sharma. Reacting to India's match against New Zealand in the ongoing Champions Trophy, Shama labelled Rohit "fat" and called him 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!" the Congress spokesperson wrote in a social media post. After facing backlash, the Congress leader deleted her post.

She went further in another post, questioning Sharma’s abilities compared to past cricketing legends. "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."

'Being attacked for no reason'

Following the backlash, Shama defended her remarks questioning Rohit's decision to promote himself to the opening spot during India's Test match against Australia, a match that the Men in Blue ultimately lost.

"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," she wrote in another post.


Speaking to the news agency ANI, Shama clarified that her remarks were "generic" and were not intended to shame the captain of the Indian men's cricket team. Further defending her comments, she said that, in her opinion, "sportspersons should be fit," and added that she was being "attacked for no reason" over her statements.

"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.

BJP’s hits back

BJP’s Shehzad Poonawalla was quick to respond, taking a dig at the Congress party's electoral failures. "Those who have lost 90 elections under the captaincy of Rahul Gandhi are calling the captaincy of Rohit Sharma unimpressive!" he remarked.

Poonawalla also defended Sharma’s track record, referencing his recent achievements. "I guess six ducks in Delhi and 90 election losses is impressive, but winning the T20 World Cup isn’t! Rohit has a brilliant track record as captain, by the way!"


Meanwhile, on the field, India secured a crucial victory over New Zealand, winning by 44 runs to top Group A. Shreyas Iyer’s composed 79 and Varun Chakravarthy’s five-wicket haul helped India set up a semifinal clash against Australia in the Champions Trophy.

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