Congress distanced itself from its spokesperson Shama Mohamed's remarks on Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma on Monday. Congress's media and publicity department head, Pawan Kher,a stated that Mohamed has been asked to delete her posts and be more cautious in the future.

“Dr. 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.

He asserted that Mohamed's remarks about the cricketing legend do not reflect the party's position and that the party respects sporting icons and does not support any remarks that diminish their legacy.

Shama Mohamed, on a now-deleted post on X, called Rohit Sharma "fat for a sportsman" and the "most unimpressive captain" in the nation's cricketing history.

Her post came after Sharma was dismissed for 15 runs off 17 balls during the India vs New Zealand ICC Champions Trophy match.

The remarks drew heavy backlash from fans, with a Pakistan-based journalist defending Sharma as a "world-class performer." Responding to the journalist, Shama questioned Sharma's greatness compared to former Indian captains like Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli.

"He is a mediocre captain as well as a mediocre player who got lucky to be the captain of India," she added.

Her comments sparked a political row, with BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari slamming her for the remarks, "Shame on Congress! Now they are going after the Indian cricket captain! Do they expect Rahul Gandhi to now play cricket after failing in Indian politics?"

"This is the same Congress that humiliated athletes for decades, denied them recognition, and now dares to mock a cricketing legend? The party that thrives on nepotism is lecturing a self-made champion?" BJP leader Radhika Khera said.

BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla hit out at the Congress over Mohamed's remarks.

"Those who have lost 90 elections under the captaincy of Rahul Gandhi are calling the captaincy of Rohit Sharma unimpressive! I guess 6 ducks in Delhi and 90 election losses are impressive, but winning the T20 World Cup isn't! Rohit has a brilliant track record as captain, by the way!" he said in a post on X.

BJP leader and Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, "It is very shameful that an official spokesperson of the Congress is giving such a statement. This isCongress's'statement. They feel that only one person is fit for everything, and that is Rahul Gandhi. They are so against the country that today they are using abusive language against our country's cricket captain. I don't know what they mean by this. It is shameful, and I condemn this. The entire nation is seeing the mentality of the Congress," he said.