Cong's Shama Mohamed asks if Sarfaraz Khan ignored because of his surname, stirs row

New Delhi | Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed on Wednesday stoked a controversy when she asked whether Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan was not selected in the India A cricket squad "because of his surname".

Mohamed, who had kicked up a row in March by fat-shaming then Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma, also appeared to take a jibe at Indian team's coach Gautam Gambhir, saying "we know" where he stands on the matter.

The Congress leader's remarks drew sharp retort from the BJP with the ruling party's 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 didn't find his name in the two separate squads to be led by Rishabh Pant.

Social media erupted over the exclusion of 28-year-old Khan, who has recently shed a lot of weight and has scored heavily in India's domestic cricket in the recent years, as people asked what more could he do to secure a call-up.

In a post on X, Congress leader Mohamed said, "Is Sarfaraz Khan not selected because of his surname ! #justasking. We know where Gautam Gambhir stands on that matter."

Hitting back at her, Poonawalla said, "This lady & her party is sick. After calling Rohit Sharma fat- she and her party want to divide even our cricket team on communal lines? Desh ka partition karke mann nahi bhara kya? (Are they not satisfied even after partitioning the country?)."

"In the same team Mohammad Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed will play! Stop dividing India on communal lines, caste lines," he said.

Mohamed had courted controversy in March by fat-shaming then Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma. She had to delete her social media post after the Congress had reprimanded her.

In her deleted post, Mohamed had said Sharma is "fat for a sportsman".

In a post on Tuesday evening, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi had also questioned Khan's exclusion from India A.

"Why isn't Sarfaraz Khan selected even for India A?" he had said.