By Kashifa Wisal
A political uproar broke out over Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed’s remarks about Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma, with an unexpected ally coming from the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Mohamed caused anger after she criticized Sharma’s performance and body shape in several posts on X, which led to harsh responses from both her party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Mohamed had written, “Rohit Sharma is fat for a sportsman. Need to lose weight! And of course, the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had,” during India’s game against New Zealand in the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025. Her comments faced pushback, and she removed the posts, after an official warning from the Congress party, which separated itself from her statements.
Party spokesperson Pawan Khera made it clear that Mohamed’s words did not represent the party’s view and that she was told to be more careful in the future. However, TMC MP Sougata Roy offered support for Mohamed’s position saying that her evaluation of Sharma’s performance wasn’t unfounded. Roy said, “Rohit Sharma’s performance has been quite poor. He scored one century, but other than that, he gets out for low scores. He shouldn’t be in the team. India wins because other players step up, but the captain hasn’t met expectations.” He said Mohamed’s criticism was fair, agreeing with her views despite the backlash.
The BJP jumped on Mohamed’s comments claiming Congress undermined national pride by attacking a cricket icon. BJP spokesman Pradeep Bhandari poked fun at the party, wondering if Congress now wanted Rahul Gandhi to play cricket after his political setbacks. He also called the criticism of Sharma a sign of Congress’s “Emergency mindset,” saying it insulted Indian cricket team fans.
Rohit Sharma has led the Indian team since 2023 guiding them to win the T20 World Cup and several Asia Cup titles. His record as captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL) shines too, with five championships while leading Mumbai Indians. Even with this uproar, we don’t know yet if Mohamed’s remarks and the resulting political clash will change Sharma’s position as the Indian cricket team’s captain going forward.