The former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar came in support of current captain Rohit Sharma following controversial comments made by Congress leader Shama Mohamed about the Indian skipper.
Gavaskar hit out against the politician about her comments, saying how another one from Mumbai, Sarfaraz Khan, who was rejected for his body weight, was able to perform when it mattered.
“I have always said that if you want thin guys, you go to a modelling competition and choose all the models. It has nothing to do with that,” said Gavaskar on India today.
“If Sarfaraz Khan scores 150 for India in a Test match and follows it up with two or three fifty-plus scores, then what is the issue?” he added.
Gavaskar added that it is about the mentality and scoring runs for the team.
“I don’t think size matters. It’s mental toughness that counts—whether you can last a distance—that’s the most important thing. A person must bat well, bat long and score runs,” the legendary opening batter reiterated.
After the outrage on social media, however, Shama has since accepted her claims went too far, with the party asking her to withdraw the post from her account.
In her now-deleted post, Shama had remarked that Rohit is “too fat for a sportsman”. “He needs to lose some weight! The most unimpressive Captain that India has ever had!”
Read more: – BJP and Congress Clash Over Rohit Sharma Controversy
On Rohit Sharma, the skipper is all set to lead the Men in Blue for the all-important semi-final clash against Australia in the Champions Trophy 2025 fixture taking place in Dubai on Tuesday.
Rohit and Co. will pay back Australia for halting their memorable campaign in the ODI World Cup, after they lost to the Aussies in the final at Ahmedabad. Following that, though, the Indian team lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in an earlier series on their return.
