While the Indian team was playing New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, a major issue arose around skipper Rohit Sharma.

Before her body-shaming comments were criticized by both the BJP and Indian cricket team supporters, Congress MP Shama Mohamed made a contentious statement about Rohit. Speaking about the game, Shreyas Iyer and Varun Chakravarthy were the standout players as India overcame New Zealand by 44 runs under Rohit’s leadership.

The national spokesman for the Indian National Congress took aim at Rohit Sharma, who is still regarded as one of the country’s most prominent cricket players, emphasizing that the legendary player “needs to lose weight.”

Devajit Saikia, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), described the statements as “unfortunate” since they caused a great deal of controversy. He said that a cricket player’s morale might be negatively affected by such words made during an ICC tournament.

“It’s quite regrettable that a responsible individual would make such a pointless remark when the team is participating in such an important ICC competition. Both the team and the individual may get discouraged as a result. Every player is giving their best effort, and the results are evident. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia said, “I hope people will stop making such disparaging remarks for personal publicity sake.”

Speaking of Shama, she ultimately removed her contentious X post. “For an athlete, @ImRo45 is obese! Weight loss is necessary! And, of course, India’s least spectacular captain ever,” the tweet said.

Since making his debut for India on the international scene in 2007, Rohit has become a modern-day superstar. He has amassed 4231 T20I runs, 4302 Test runs, and 11049 ODI runs.

Rohit became permanent leadership of India in all three formats in February 2022. Last year, the Men in Blue won the T20 World Cup, capping after a protracted and exasperating quest for an ICC trophy under his direction.

Notably, India has already advanced to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semifinals, where they will face Australia on Tuesday in Dubai.