’Leave the country’: Yograj Singh lambasts Congress leader Shama Mohamed for fat-shaming Rohit Sharma

Hours after Congress leader Shama Mohamed made controversial remarks on Team India skipper Rohit Sharma and fat-shamed him, former Indian cricket team player Yograj Singh lambasted her and didn’t mince his words.

Yograj Singh claimed that if he were the prime minister of India, he would have asked her to “pack her bags and leave the country.”

What Yograj Singh said?

“I only want to say one thing, jiska kaam usee ko saaje aur kare to danda baaje (the work only suits those to whom it belongs; if done by anyone else, it is ruined). Indian cricketers, people and the land are more dear to me than my own life. If someone in the political system makes such a statement about a player who has brought pride to our nation, that person should be ashamed,” Yograj, father of Yuvraj Singh, told ANI.

“They have no right to stay in our nation. Cricket is our religion; we lost against New Zealand and Australia, and a lot of things were said about Rohit and Virat. We stood up for them. I feel so sad. These things happen in Pakistan. Their former star player said, ‘Who will eat so many bananas?’ (Taking a jibe at Wasim Akram). Action should be taken. This should not be tolerated. If I were the prime minister, I would have said, pack your bags and leave the country,” he added.

Harbhajan Singh reacts too:

On Congress leader Shama Mohamed’s remarks, former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh said, as quoted by ANI, “Whatever has been said about Rohit Sharma – I want to tell her that he is such a player who has served the country so much, and he is still leading the team well… I don’t think anyone has this right to talk about his fitness. Had his fitness been not good, he wouldn’t have been part of the team, but he is there and that too as a captain. There are many levels of fitness that you need to pass to come into the team.”

He added, “I want to ask her if she is a fitness coach, BCCI president or if she is related to any sport so that she knows about fitness. She is comparing him (Rohit Sharma) with a player who is still in the team. I think she doesn’t know the parameters of fitness. Without knowing the facts, I don’t think anyone should talk… We should look towards Rohit Sharma’s contributions.”

What Shama Mohamed had said?

In her post on X, Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed said that Rohit Sharma needs to lose weight. “@ImRo45 is fat for a sportsman! Need to lose weight! And of course the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had! (sic)” she said.

However, after the backlash, the Congress leader deleted the post from her X handle.

Later she clarified her tweet and said, ““This is my personal remark, don’t bring my party into this. We can speak about someone’s fitness, what’s the issue in that? Since I am fit, I was only talking about his fitness… why are you making such a big issue out of it? (sic)”

Congress reprimands Shama Mohamed: 

Congress reprimanded Shama Mohamed after the row over her social media posts calling Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma “fat”, and asked her to delete the posts and exercise greater caution in future.

The Congress asserted that Shama Mohamed’s remarks about the cricketing legend do not reflect the party’s position.

BCCI backs Rohit Sharma:

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) slammed Shama Mohamed’s remarks after she fat-shamed Indian captain Rohit Sharma. The cricketing body criticised the comments, calling them demoralising, and urged individuals to avoid such statements. The controversy comes amid India’s campaign in the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy.

NDTV quoted BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia as saying in a statement, “It is very unfortunate for a responsible person to pass such a trivial comment when the team is in the middle of such a crucial ICC tournament.”

Though Rohit’s batting might have been patchy in the ongoing Champions Trophy, his captaincy has been spot on. India have already qualified for the semi-finals after thumping wins in the group stage.