A major social media controversy erupted after India’s thrilling win over New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 group match when Congress’ national spokesperson, Dr. Shama Mohamed, took a dig at Rohit Sharma by calling the captain “fat.”
However, Dr. Shama Mohamed quickly deleted the post at her party’s insistence after facing severe backlash on social media. But the damage was already done, as she and the party were heavily slammed by the fans, cricketers, and politicians on social media.
Shama Mohamed sparks outrage with controversial comments on Rohit Sharma
Shama’s comment came after India’s final group-stage match in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, where Rohit was dismissed for 15 runs off 17 balls. Despite his poor show, the Men in Blue managed to secure a 44-run victory over New Zealand to continue their unbeaten streak in the prestigious tournament and march into the semifinals against Australia in dominant fashion.
However, instead of acknowledging the Indian cricket team’s success, Congress’ national spokesperson made an unnecessary remark about Rohit’s physique, which sparked outrage on social media. In her now-deleted post, she said Rohit is “fat for a sportsman. He needs to lose weight! And of course, the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had!”
In another X post, she said, “What is so world-class about him when compared to his predecessors? He is a mediocre captain as well as a mediocre player who got lucky to be the captain of India.”
Rohit Sharma’s coach slams Congress spokesperson over “Fat” remark
Now, Rohit Sharma’s childhood coach, Dinesh Lad, called out the Congress spokesperson for her inappropriate comment and unnecessary criticism, as body-shaming a national sports icon was not only disrespectful but also diminishing his contribution to the game.
Dinesh Lad was quoted as saying by Republic TV, “How can you say something like that about an international player? This is such a shameless thing to say. I don’t mind whatever they said because we all know Rohit’s potential and how he is leading the Indian team. I can’t comment on this further.”
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Meanwhile, Dr. Shama Mohamed clarified her stance, insisting that her post was a “general” comment on a player’s fitness and not meant to “body-shame.” Rohit, despite the Congress party, said that her remarks about ‘a cricketing legend do not reflect the party’s position.’
It was a generic tweet: Shama Mohamed defends herself
The Congress spokesperson was quoted as saying by ANI, “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. 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.”
Notably, politicians like Shiv Sena-UBT leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, BJP leader and Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, and BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla have slammed Shama and hailed Rohit for his achievements both as a captain and player in the game of cricket.