Rohit Sharma ‘fat’ row: Cricket legends slam Congress leader, ‘pick models’, ‘are you a fitness coach?’ – who said what

Many came in support of Rohit Sharma after he was Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed fat-shamed him and questioned his fitness on social media, which she later deleted.

Here’s look at who said what:

Noting that physical fitness and match fitness are two different things, Sunil Gavaskar said”I have always said, if you want only slim guys, then you should go to a modelling competition and pick all the models. It’s not about that. It’s about how well you can play cricket. We talked about Sarfaraz Khan—he was vilified for a long time because he was on the heavier side. But if he scores 150 for India in a Test match and follows it up with another two or three fifty-plus scores, then what’s the issue?”

Yograj Singh, former cricketer and Yuvraj Singh’s father, defended Sharma saying Mohamed should be ashamed about making such a statement about a player who has brought pride to our nation

“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 Singh told news agency 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,” he added.

Yograj Singh further said unnecessary criticism happens in Pakistan, citing Wasim Akram’s comment about players in the current setup eating too many bananas.

Harbhajan Singh emphasized Rohit’s commitment to the Indian team and there is need to recognize what a player has done for the team rather than making superficial judgments

“Rohit is a player who has served the country. Even today, he is managing the team with a fighting spirit in Dubai. The remarks made about his body and fitness, nobody has the right to say such things about him. If he was not fit, he wouldn’t be in the Indian team and he is the captain! To play for India, you have to pass multiple levels of fitness tests, and Rohit has done that–that’s why he is part of the team,” Harbhajan Singh said.

“The person making such allegations–are you a fitness coach, BCCI president, or someone associated with sports? Do you even understand what fitness parameters are? You’re comparing him to past captains, saying they were fitter but do you even know the parameters of fitness? Many people have different health conditions, but that doesn’t mean everyone has to look the same. We must recognize what a player has done for the team rather than making superficial judgments about their appearance,” he added.

“He is a World Cup-winning captain, and currently the team is playing the ICC Champions Trophy…Her remarks should not be taken seriously as she doesn’t understand match fitness and what kind of captain he is,” former Indian cricketers Atul Wassan told ANI.

Adding to it, former selector Sarandeep Singh said Rohit is very fit.

“Rohit doesn’t look unfit from anywhere. He is performing brilliantly in the recent few times where we have seen him doing good fielding and diving in the pitch. He is vey fit. We all are proud of what Rohit Sharma is doing currently,” Sarandeep Singh said.

Dinesh Lad his coach reiterated, “It is a very wrong statement. If Rohit was unfit than he wouldn’t have fielded and batted in the way he is doing right now. He recently scored a century against England. Rohit can score a century in every match, but he wants to play for the team.”

Congress asks Shama Mohamed to remove post

Congress distanced itself from Shama Mohamed’s remarks. Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera posted on X and said that Shama’s remarks do not reflect the party’s position.

“Shama Mohammed, National Spokesperson of the Indian National Congress, made certain remarks about a cricketing legend that do not reflect the party’s position. She has been asked to delete the concerned social media posts from X and has been advised to exercise greater caution in the future,” Khera said.

The comment drew flak from BJP as well.