Sunil Gavaskar comes in defence of Rohit Sharma after politician's body-shaming criticism

Sunil Gavaskar (Pic: File Pic)

Team India legend Sunil Gavaskar backed skipper Rohit Sharma who recently faced fat-shaming from a politician.

Sunil Gavaskar said that slim guys are for modelling and in cricket, mental strength matters and not physical size.

Opening about the instance where Rohit Sharma faced unnecessary criticism from a politician, Sunil Gavaskar reminded about how Mumbai's Sarfaraz Khan also faced body shaming, but it didn't affect his performance.

"I have always said, if you want only slim guys, then you should go to a modelling competition and pick all the models. It's not about that," Sunil Gavaskar told India Today.

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"It's about how well you can play cricket. We talked about Sarfaraz Khan, he was vilified for a long time because he was on the heavier side. But if he scores 150 for India in a Test match and follows it up with another two or three fifty-plus scores, then what's the issue?"

"I don't think size has anything to do with it. It's your mental strength whether you can last the distance that's the most important thing. Bat well, bat for long, and score runs."

Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed called Rohit "fat for a sportsman" and described him as "the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had."

However, she faced backlash on social media for her unwarranted comment and was forced to delete her post from the 'X'.

Congress also distanced itself from Shama's comment and requested her to delete the post.

Team India under Rohit Sharma is facing Australia in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy 2025. With the aim to cement their place in the finals of the marquee event, Team India will look to continue their winning momentum in the tournament.

(With PTI Inputs)