Indian politics and cricket have an unspoken love-hate relationship. The two fields, no matter how distinct in their outlook inevitably overlap and find a piece muddled together. This time is no exception.
The skipper of the Indian Men’s Cricket Team, Rohit Sharma has become the centre of attention, but not for his batting this time. Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed has recently passed some controversial remarks on the captain, which began the moment he was fat shamed by the politician.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), she called Rohit Sharma “fat for a sportsman” and the “most unimpressive captain India has ever had”. She later deleted her posts following the heavy backlash from all corners.
As soon as her tweet gained widespread momentum and flak from the public, Congress officially distanced itself from her remarks and clarified of not being involved as a party in the defamatory remarks passed by Shama.
Congress leader Pawan Khera was quick to release an official statement to safeguard the party’s image and stated: “Dr. Shama Mohammed, National Spokesperson of the Indian National Congress, made certain remarks about a cricketing legend that do not reflect party’s position. The INC holds the contribution of sporting icons in the highest regard and does not endorse any statements that undermine their legacy.”
Kolkata, West Bengal: On Congress leader Shama Mohamed fat shaming Team India captian Rohit Sharma, TMC MP Saugata Roy says, "I heard that Rohit Sharma's performance has been quite poor. He scored one century, but other than that, he gets out after scoring 2, 3, 4, or 5 runs. He… pic.twitter.com/h89cNP43jO
— IANS (@ians_india) March 3, 2025
As if the drama was not enough, Shama was joined by TMC MP Sougata Ray, who backed the spokesperson on her debatable remarks. Ray told the IANS news agency in his interaction that he totally agrees with Mohamed’s assessment of the captain and seconds her opinion firmly.
He further fueled the fire by commenting on Rohit Sharma’s contribution not being visible in India’s wins but being a result of the hard work of all other players in the team. The ruling party BJP took note of these offensive remarks and was quick to condemn them. Shama was accused of ‘body-shaming’ an iconic player and took a staunch jibe at Congress’s poor electoral performance too.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia in his official statement extended his support for Rohit Sharma and expressed his displeasure towards the two politicians in subject. His wise words on being sensitive towards the Indian stalwart and one of the most respected players, especially during an ongoing international tournament is something members of position should be cognizant of.
My Perspective:
As a proud Indian and an ardent sports lover, to see a politician pass such snide remarks and fat-shame an athlete holding an eminent respect is reflective the poor state of our society. Senior leaders must exercise caution while passing such derogatory comments on someone, and use their public platforms for meaningful purposes, to unite and not negatively instigate the population.
The current skipper took over Team India’s captaincy across all formats since February 2022 from his predecessor Virat Kohli and tried his best to add more laurels to Indian cricket. Under his able leadership, India won the T20 World Cup last year and two Asia Cup trophies earlier.
He has a stellar record in the IPL too. As a former Mumbai Indians captain since his appointment in 2013 until so far, he led the team to clinch five IPL titles, a record shared jointly with another legendary former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni of the Chennai Super Kings.
With a highly impressive career so far, he has scored over 11,000 runs in the ODI format, over 4200 runs in the T20 genre and over 4300 runs in test cricket. His highest individual score of 264 against Sri Lanka in the ODI match showcased the elegant and powerful style that became his trademark.
A player of such high caliber and rating only deserves appreciation and recognition. Rohit’s captaincy and mindset has been highly appreciated during the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy Tournament too.
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