New Delhi [India], March 3 : Former Indian cricketers Atul Wassan, Sarandeep Singh, and Rohit Sharma's former coach Dinesh Lad defended the Men in Blue skipper Rohit Sharma following Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed's remarks on social media about his fitness, which she later deleted.
"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," Wassan told ANI.
Dinesh Lad said that if Rohit was not fit, he wouldn't have scored a ton against England in the ODI series.
"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," Dinesh Lad said.
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.
The Congress leader's comments drew criticism from BJP leaders also
Congress distanced itself from Shama Mohamed's remarks on Indian Cricket Team Captain Rohit Sharma.
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 Indian National Congress holds the contributions of sporting icons in the highest regard and does not endorse any statements that undermine their legacy," the Congress leader added.
In her post on X, Shama Mohamed said that Rohit Sharma needs to lose weight.
"@ImRo45 is fat for a sportsman! Need to lose weight! And ofcourse the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had!" she said.
However, after the backlash, the Congress leader deleted the post from her X account.
Speaking on her post, Shama told ANI that it was a "generic" tweet about the fitness of a sportsperson.
"It was not body-shaming. I always believed a sports person 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 that? It is a democracy," she said.