Politics has started taking hold of the Indian cricket team. We are not saying this but Congress leader Shama Mohammad has made such a claim. In a social media post, he has accused the current head coach of Team India, Gautam Gambhir, of selecting players on religious grounds. Taking the name of Sarfaraz Khan, Shama Mohammad asked whether he was not selected in the team just because of his surname.

Shama Mohammed posted on

This statement of Shama Mohammed has come at a time when Sarfaraz Khan did not get a place in the India A squad for the series against South Africa A. This statement of the Congress leader is also being heavily criticized.

Sarfaraz Khan last represented the Indian team in the match against New Zealand in 2024. After that, he was not selected in the squad for Border Gavaskar Trophy, then England Tour and recently also in the West Indies Test series. Despite good domestic record, Sarfaraz is out of the team.

Is Sarfaraz Khan not selected because of his surname! #justasking We know where Gautam Gambhir stands on that matter

—Dr. Shama Mohamed (@drshamamohd) October 22, 2025

Shama Mohammed has called Rohit Sharma ‘fat’

This is not the first time that Shama Mohammed has given a controversial statement about a cricketer. In the same year, he called Rohit Sharma fat and called him the most ineffective captain in the history of Indian cricket. Recently, AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi had also raised questions that despite consistently doing well in domestic cricket, Sarfaraz Khan was not given a place in the India A squad.

Here we go again. If merit doesn’t fit the narrative, pull out the “surname card.”

Sarfaraz’s selection depends on performance, not on “political victimhood hashtags.”

Cricket runs on stats, not sympathy and Gambhir’s record on nationalism hurts the ecosystem the most.

Stop…

— Political Mind (@Political__mind) October 22, 2025

Really? Or is it just cricketing form, team balance, and performance that decide selection? Let’s not drag surnames into everything

— Shrikanth K (@srikanthsk91) October 22, 2025

Thank God, it’s Mohammed Siraj and not Siraj Khan otherwise we would not have seen a player with an infinite aura playing for India. pic.twitter.com/noHRVF3H6E

— desi sigma (@desisigma) October 22, 2025

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