Congress leader who fat-shamed Rohit Sharma, stirs another controversy – this time involving Sarfaraz Khan | Off the field News
Congress leader Shama Mohamed sparked controversy on Wednesday by suggesting religious discrimination in cricketer Sarfaraz Khan’s omission from the recently announced India A squads by BCCI, following her earlier criticism of former India captain Rohit Sharma‘s fitness.Shama Mohamed took to social media platform X, directly questioning if Khan’s religious identity played a role in his exclusion from the teams. She also seemingly hit out at Gautam Gambhir, a former BJP MP and now India coach, for allegedly prioritising non-Muslim players.
“Is Sarfaraz Khan not selected because of his surname! #justasking. We know where Gautam Gambhir stands on that matter,” Mohamed posted on X.
Shama Mohamed’s social media post about Sarfaraz Khan. (Image: X)
The controversy emerged after BCCI announced the India A squads for two four-day matches against South Africa A, scheduled at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru from October 30 to November 2 and November 6 to 9.Earlier, during the Champions Trophy, Mohamed’s post on X had created a controversy. She said Rohit “is fat for a sportsperson” and suggested he “needs to lose weight,” before adding that he is “the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had.”When a Pakistan-based sports journalist challenged the Congress leader’s remarks by noting that Sharma is a “mighty effective and world-class performer,” she responded, “What is so world-class about him when compared to his predecessors like Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid, Dhoni, Kohli, Kapil Dev, Shastri, and the rest? He is a mediocre captain as well as a mediocre player who got lucky to be the Captain of India.”
Shama Mohamed had created controversy by targeting Rohit Sharma during the Champions Trophy.
In a later clarification, Mohamed compared Rohit with former captain Virat, saying Kohli “always compliments other cricketers.” She added, “I just spoke in a generic manner. I fail to understand how in a democracy, we don’t have the right to speak.”Sarfaraz waits on the sidelinesSarfaraz Khan, who made his Test debut under Rohit Sharma against England in February last year, has since accumulated 371 runs in six Tests at an average of 37.10, with one century and three fifties in 11 innings.His last appearance for India was against New Zealand at Wankhede in November last year.Khan’s domestic cricket record remains impressive with an average of 65.19 in 56 first-class matches, scoring 2,467 runs including 16 hundreds and 15 fifties at a strike rate of 70.99.Despite maintaining a remarkable average of 117.47 in first-class cricket over the past five years, Khan’s chances of selection for the Indian Test team appear limited after being overlooked for the Australia tour.
