IND vs AUS: Political uproar over Rohit Sharma’s fitness, how did it become a big controversy before the semi-final?
Rohit Sharma Fitness Political Controversy: Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma is in the headlines these days more for his fitness than his performance. Just a day before the semi-final match of the Champions Trophy 2025 against Australia , Congress spokesperson Shama Mohammad made such a statement about Rohit’s fitness, due to which the whole matter became a matter of political debate. This statement, which went viral on social media, has created a stir among the fans as well as in the political corridors.
The controversy escalated further when Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya strongly criticized Shama Mohammad’s remarks. At the same time, TMC leader Saugata Roy also heated up the debate by questioning Rohit Sharma’s fitness. In such a situation, this controversy can affect the atmosphere of the team just before the semi-final match. However, the Indian captain now has a golden opportunity to answer his critics by performing brilliantly on the field.
How did the dispute start?
The controversy over the fitness of Indian captain Rohit Sharma started when Kerala Congress spokesperson Shama Mohammed posted a tweet on social media.
He wrote, “@ImRo45 is fat for a player! He needs to lose weight! And definitely the weakest captain India has ever had!”
As soon as this tweet went viral, fans called it body shaming and started criticizing the Congress leader. However, after the growing controversy, Shama Mohammed deleted the tweet, but the debate did not stop there.
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Union Sports Minister hit back
The controversy gained further momentum when Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya strongly criticized this statement.
He said, “Congress and TMC should refrain from interfering with the players in their professional lives. Body-shaming the players and questioning their place in the team is shameful and reprehensible.”
Congress and TMC should leave sportspersons alone as they are fully capable of handling their professional lives.
Remarks made by leaders from these parties, indulging in body shaming and questioning an athlete’s place in the team, are not only deeply shameful but also outright…
— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) March 3, 2025
After the statement of the Sports Minister, the whole matter started taking a political turn and many BJP leaders accused the Congress of insulting the spirit of sportsmanship.
After the statement of the Sports Minister, the whole matter started taking a political turn and many BJP leaders accused the Congress of insulting the spirit of sportsmanship.
Shama Mohammed’s clarification
After facing a lot of criticism, Shama Mohammed clarified that her comment was not meant for body shaming but that she had only raised questions about the fitness of a player.
#WATCH | On her comment on Indian Cricket team captain Rohit Sharma, Congress leader Shama Mohammed says, "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… pic.twitter.com/OBiLk84Mjh
— ANI (@ANI) March 3, 2025
She said, “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…”
However, the Congress party distanced itself from the statement, saying it was not their official opinion. The Congress also clarified that the party respects the contribution of sports icons and does not support any statement that tarnishes their image.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said, “The comments made by Shama Mohammed against the cricketer are not the official opinion of the Congress. She has been asked to delete the tweet and advised to be more careful in future.”
TMC leader also gave a controversial statement
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saugata Roy also added fuel to the fire. He also raised questions about Rohit Sharma’s fitness and performance.
Saugata Roy said, “A player who scores a century once in two years and gets out early in the rest of the matches should not get a place in the team. Yes, he is fat and people are not paying attention to it.”
He further said that fit players like Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah and Shreyas Iyer could be better options for captaining the team.
BCCI gave clarification
Seeing the entire controversy growing, BCCI also reacted and said that Rohit Sharma has passed all the fitness tests and that he is completely fit.
A BCCI official said, “Rohit Sharma has passed all the necessary fitness tests and is captaining the team brilliantly. It is completely unfair to question his fitness.”
This controversy that started over Rohit Sharma’s fitness has now taken a political turn. After the statement of Congress leader Shama Mohammad, the comment of TMC MP Saugata Roy has further fueled it. Now all eyes are on the IND vs AUS semi-final match, where Rohit Sharma can give a befitting reply to the critics with his batting.
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