A fat-shaming row broke out in Indian cricket on Monday when Rohit Sharma, the captain, was accused by a politician of being “fat for a sportsperson”.
Sharma, who turns 38 next month, is currently leading the Indian cricket team in the ongoing Champions Trophy, and was criticised for his weight by Shama Mohamed, a spokesperson for the Congress, India’s main opposition party.
“Need to lose weight, and of course the most unimpressive captain India has ever had!” Mohamed said in a now-deleted post on X late on Sunday night.
The Congress said her post did not reflect the party’s position and that Mohamed had been asked to delete it. One way of gaining publicity for a politician in India is to jump on the back of cricket, the country’s obsession, and Sharma, as captain, has the second-highest profile behind superstar Virat Kohli.
Sharma also found support from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, as well the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which said such comments could have an adverse effect on the team as they prepare for the semi-final of the Champions Trophy against Australia in Dubai on Tuesday.
“It is very unfortunate that these derogatory, demoralising comments are being made when the team is in the crucial stage of a global tournament,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told Reuters.
Mohamed defended her comment, saying her post was a generic one on the fitness of a sportsperson and did not amount to body-shaming.
“I felt he is overweight and tweeted about it. I have been attacked for no reason,” she said.
Under Kohli’s captaincy, Indian cricketers adopted a more professional approach to training. Sharma was out of the Test side for a period partly due to his fitness.
He stood down as T20 captain after winning that format’s World Cup last year but still leads the 50-over team and Test side, although he did drop himself for the final match of the Australia series in January.
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