"Rohit Sharma's Fitness Is a Valid Concern": Shama Mohamed Responds to Criticism

Congress spokesperson Dr. Shama Mohamed deleted her post after facing strong criticism for calling Indian captain Rohit Sharma "fat" and "not impressive." In a now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter), she wrote, "Rohit Sharma is too fat for a sportsman! He needs to lose weight! And he is the most unimpressive captain India has ever had!"

Even after the backlash, Mohamed stood by her comments and defended her opinion by comparing Rohit to past Indian captains. She questioned his decisions, saying, "Didn't he move KL Rahul to bat at number 3 in the MCG Test and put himself at number 1, which completely failed? Wasn't that a selfish move? Because of that, Shubman Gill was left out of the team."

"Didn’t we lose the last World Cup that was held in Ahmedabad? I have compared him to our past captains," the Congress spokesperson continued.

Even as her comments led to a heated discussion, Mohamed kept criticizing Rohit, calling him an "average player" and an "average captain." In another post, she said, "What is so special about him when compared to former players like Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid, Dhoni, Kohli, Kapil Dev, Shastri, and others? He is an average captain and an average player who was just lucky to become India's captain."

"It was just a simple tweet about a player's fitness. It is not body shaming. It is about how fit a sportsperson should be. I always believe athletes need to stay fit. I felt he is a bit overweight, so I tweeted about it. I am being criticized for no reason," Mohamed told ANI.

She added, "When I compared him to other captains like Dhoni, or Ganguly, Dravid, Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, and Virat, I was just sharing my opinion."

She further said, "India is a democracy. I have the right to speak," and questioned, "What’s wrong in saying that?"

Shama Mohamed defended herself by praising Virat Kohli, recalling how he supported Mohammed Shami when the fast bowler faced criticism 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 many people started blaming Shami. But Virat, as captain, stood by his teammate," she said.

She also praised Kohli’s leadership, saying, "Virat Kohli, whenever a young player catches a ball in a match, goes and hugs him. He leads by example. He scores runs. He is the captain of the team, and he always appreciates others, even when an opponent plays well. Virat Kohli compliments them."

Defending herself, Mohamed added, "I was just speaking in a general way, and I don’t understand why, in a democracy, we don’t have the right to speak like this."

This is not the first time Indian captain Rohit Sharma has faced criticism for his fitness. Former South African cricketer Daryll Cullinan also raised concerns about Rohit'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 no longer a long-term cricketer. He is not in good enough shape to play a four- or five-match Test series," Cullinan told PTI in December last year.