Renowned lyricist and Bollywood screenwriter Javed Akhtar got into a verbal spat with a social media user after he was accused of fat-shaming Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma. Following India’s win over Australia in the Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal, Akhtar took to social media to post – “Once again Virat has proved that he is the strongest pillar of today’s Indian cricket’ s edifice ! ! ! . Hats off !!” While he was praising Virat Kohli for his brilliant half-century, the user accused him of fat-shaming Rohit. “If virat is strongest pillar then who is Rohit sharma? Heaviest pillar? Shame on you javed saab for fat shaming Indian captain,” the user posted on X (formerly Twitter) in response to Javed Akhtar’s message and mockingly called Rohit the “heaviest piller”.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Once again Virat has proved that he is the strongest pillar of today’s Indian cricket’ s edifice ! ! ! . Hats off !!
— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) March 5, 2025
The comment was not received well by Akhtar who went on to call the social media user “cockroach”.
If virat is strongest pillar then who is Rohit sharma? Heaviest pillar?
Shame on you javed saab for fat shaming indian captain
— Dr Nimo Yadav 2.0 (@niiravmodi) March 5, 2025
“Shut up you cockroach. I have great respect for Rohit sharma and all the great India cricketers of Test history . What kind of a neech And pathatic lair you are that you are claiming that I have ever said a word against dignity of a great player like Rohit . Kabhi socho tum itnay ghatia aur ganday aadmi kyon ho,” Javed Akhtar wrote on his official handle.
Shut up you cockroach. I have great respect for Rohit sharma and all the great India cricketers of Test history . What kind of a neech And pathatic lair you are that you are claiming that I have ever said a word against dignity of a great player like Rohit . Kabhi socho tum itnay…
— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) March 5, 2025
Earlier, Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed’s posts on social media fat-shaming Indian captain Rohit Sharma sparked a major row on Monday, riling millions of cricket fans and drawing flak from various quarters including her own party and Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya who slammed them as “deeply shameful”.
In her posts which were deleted after she was reprimanded by the Congress, Mohamed said Sharma is “fat for a sportsman”. “Need to lose weight! And of course the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had!” she said in remarks posted on Sunday night that came amid the Indian cricket team’s undefeated run so far in the ongoing Champions Trophy. India takes on Australia in the crucial semi-final clash on Tuesday.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said the remarks were “very unfortunate” and may have a demoralising effect on an individual or the team.
BJP leaders attacked Mohamed and the Congress party after she targeted the Indian cricket captain, with the ruling party’s social media head Amit Malviya alleging that it was a “premeditated put down to undermine the team’s morale at a crucial time”.
Distancing itself, the Congress asserted that Mohamed’s remarks about the cricketing legend do not reflect the party’s position and asked her to exercise greater caution in future.
(With PTI inputs)
from: NDTV Sports-Latest