Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed has sought to play down her criticism of Team India captain Rohit Sharma’s fitness as she remained unapologetic despite a strong backlash on social media and from the rival BJP. She cited her freedom to speak in a democracy, hours after she called Mr Sharma a “fat sportsman”.

“Rohit Sharma is fat for a sportsman! Need to lose weight! And of course the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had,” read her post that dropped in the middle of the India vs New Zealand match yesterday. The post now stands deleted.

The remark sparked a backlash on social media with the skipper’s fans pointing out Team India’s performance under his leadership.

Ms Mohamed then raced to fire-fight the situation and said it was a “generic” remark that had nothing wrong with it. “I just spoke in a generic manner. I fail to understand how in a democracy, we don’t have the right to speak,” said the Congress spokesperson.

Her remark also drew a sharp attack from the BJP which accused the Congress of going after the Indian captain. “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,” said BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari.

The Congress leader’s remark reflects their party’s Emergency mindset and is an insult to every patriot who supports the Indian cricket team, he later told NDTV.

Ms Mohamed also countered a Pakistan-based sports journalist who called Mr Sharma “mighty effective and world class performer” while reacting to her post.

“What is so world class about him when compared to his predecessors like Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid, Dhoni, Kohli, Kapil dev, Shastri & the rest! He is a mediocre captain as well as a mediocre player who got lucky to be the Captain of India,” she said.