"Unfortunate that this kind of remarks come from such a person": BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia on Shama Mohamed's comments

Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed, whose criticism of "fat" Team India skipper Rohit Sharma triggered outrage, clarified on Monday that her remark was "generic" while asking "what is wrong in saying? It is a democracy..."

Mohamed in a post on X, which she subsequently deleted, said that the Indian cricket team's captain needs to "lose weight," and called him the country's "most unimpressive captain."

Mohamed remarks followed after Rohit Sharma was dismissed after 15 runs off 17 balls during a match against New Zealand for the Champions Trophy on Sunday.The Congress leader's comments drew massive criticism with the BJP stating that a party which had lost "90 elections" under Rahul Gandhi was terming the captaincy of Rohit Sharma as unimpressive.

"It's very unfortunate this kind of remarks come from such a person who is on a responsible post to our captain, on a meanwhile time when India is playing an ICC tournament and the team is all set to play Semi final : Devajit Saikia, BCCI Secretary said while speaking to ANI

The Congress leader's comments drew massive criticism from the BJP which said that a party which had lost "90 elections" under Rahul Gandhi was terming the captaincy of Rohit Sharma as unimpressive.

Speaking to ANI today, the Congress' National spokesperson 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..."

Bharatiya Janata Party accused her of "body shaming" the stalwart batter and took a dig at the Congress party's electoral performance.

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

Meanwhile, Congress MP Rajani Patil said that the Congress will seek a response from Mohamed on the issue. "I personally and the party also will not approve of body shaming anyone. Talking this way about a sportsperson who represents the country is not right. The party will seek a response from her on this," Patil said.

On Sunday, New Zealand fell to India's spin ploy as the Rohit Sharma-led side ended at the top of Group A with a 44-run victory in Dubai.

India decided to drop Harshit Rana and field four spinners for their final group-stage game before the semifinals. The decision worked wonders as India's ball tweakers spun New Zealand batters inside out to defend its 249-run target successfully.

With a third victory on the trot, India ended the group stage with six points, while New Zealand finished in second with four points. (ANI)