NEW DELHI: Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed on Wednesday stirred a controversy by suggesting that Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan was not included in the India A squad for the upcoming South Africa tour because of communal bias.
Questioning the exclusion of the cricketer, she asked whether he was not selected because of his surname.
In a post on social media that appeared to take a jibe at Indian team coach Gautam Gambhir, the Congress leader wrote, “We know where he stands on that matter.”
Her remarks drew sharp reactions from the BJP, with party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla asking her to keep her “dirty political communal agenda” out of cricket.
On Tuesday, when the national selection committee picked the Indian squad for the two first-class games against South Africa A, Khan did not find his name in either of the two squads to be led by Rishabh Pant.
His exclusion sparked a social media storm. The 28-year-old, who has shed significant weight in recent months, has been one of the most consistent scorers in India’s domestic circuit.
In her post on X, Mohamed said, “Is Sarfaraz Khan not selected because of his surname! #justasking. We know where Gautam Gambhir stands on that matter.”
Hitting back, Poonawalla said, “This lady and her party are sick. After calling Rohit Sharma fat, she and her party now want to divide even our cricket team on communal lines? Desh ka partition karke mann nahi bhara kya? In the same team, Mohammad Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed will play! Stop dividing India on communal lines and caste lines.”
Mohamed had courted controversy earlier in March by fat-shaming then Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma. She was forced to delete her social media post after the Congress reprimanded her.
In that deleted post, she had written that Sharma is “fat for a sportsman.”