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When Congress spokesperson Dr Shama Mohamed made what she thought would be an inane comment on Rohit Sharma’s bodyweight, she could not have guessed it would blow up into a matter of national outrage, forcing her party to ask her to pull it down.
Cricket, in many ways, rules the country. Jio Hot Star TV showed an unbelievable number of 43.3 crore people — half the country’s adult population — watching the India Vs Australia Champions Trophy semifinal in Dubai. It seems most of the country had nothing else to do on that day but watch the match.
Cynics have doubted the Jio Hotstar/Star Sports number, but even if it is half that number or 20 crore, it shows how obsessed the country is with cricket. No wonder, every move (and bodyweight) of national cricketers is watched and nationally debated.
Also read: Congress leader Shama calls Rohit ‘fat’; party asks her to delete post
On the “wrong side”
Even though Dr Mohammed is a medical doctor, and therefore entitled to comment on such issues, her tweet sparked outrage because she belongs to the “wrong side”, any which way we look at it — a minority Muslim, a Congress member to boot, and a non-sportswoman commenting on the “national sport”.
These unpardonable evils of today came together in that tweet and, worse, it targeted the Indian cricket captain who is a deity worthy of worship as long as he keeps winning. That Dr Mohammed’s tweet came on the same day that the prime minister complained about growing obesity in the country did not matter.
Rohit not overweight but…
But we missed the wood for the trees. At 72 kg for his 5-ft-9-inch frame, Rohit Sharma is not overweight. But he should look fitter by working out and shedding a few kilos. An Indian cricket captain should not only win matches like he does, but also look a leader on the battlefield.
Even Sunil Gavaskar, ever the conservative, joined the chorus suggesting there is no need for a cricketer to be very physically fit as long as he can hit boundaries. Gavaskar’s stand was not surprising, considering that Indian cricketers of his generation never visited a gym or worked out. India’s 1983 World Cup-winning team was also the most unfit of all, with the slowest medium pace bowler — Mohinder Amarnath. So, “why work out” can be the argument.
Also read: Congress leader’s old post on Virat Kohli goes viral amid Rohit Sharma’s fat-shaming row
Sharma will do well to bring in some muscle mass, lose about 4 kilos and show us some bulging biceps and well-cut abs — just like his teammate Virat Kohli, who manages his body and his diet meticulously.
Mohammed Shami, who is coming out of a long injury break with a strict physical fitness regimen, has said he is now on a one-meal-a-day diet, which is considered blasphemous in India but practised around the world by fitness freaks. That makes two of Sharma’s team members on a one-meal-a-day regimen.
Why Rohit needs to shed some weight
So, how does a highly fit person score over a Rohit Sharma? All we need to do is look at the New Zealand and Australian teams to figure out their level of fitness, which helps the teams limit runs, take difficult catches, and show the desire to win overall.
The aerial catch by New Zealand’s cover point fielder Glen Phillips to dismiss Kohli in Dubai is the creation of a man so fit that no ball can get past him. No one will claim that Rohit Sharma could have taken such a catch. Such efforts make a difference between victory and defeat.
Rohit fits squarely into the league of cricket stylists who have filled the game’s history with the lazy, languorous way of playing, including David Gower, Mike Brearly, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and many others.
Even on the cricket field, Indians and other south Asian teams are physically weaker even though we score with our skillsets. Even though muscle is not paramount for a batsman, having strength will add to the effect of his timing of the ball, which is a Rohit’s speciality.
Also read: Rohit Sharma ‘fat’ remark: BCCI secretary slams Congress leader Shama
Sport a celebration of human body and fitness
In modern sport, there is only one person who decided to bulk up his body to add power and distance to his golf — Bryson DeChambeau. He added 50 pounds to his bodyweight by infusing calories, believing that it will give him the power and the distance to his shots. That was, of course, muscular weight, not just body fat. But he has now rescinded from that philosophy, saying that bulking up causes stomach problems. He became huge and was called the biggest bomber on the course.
Cricket, for a long time, remained aloof from other sports in terms of physical fitness — which is why Indians, generally much physically weaker than Western or African nations, excel in it. The national unfitness is also a reason why India is a poor Olympic sport country.
Also, we forget that the history of all sport is a celebration of the human body and fitness. The belief in the strength of the male body had early beginnings. The central idea of all Greek culture was the concept of “areta”, a unity of body, mind, and soul. In fact, the gymnasia where Greeks trained their bodies “were also the sites of the era’s three major philosophical traditions”, according to William Giraldi, author of The Hero’s Body.
The end of bodybuilding culture
Bodybuilding emerged as a major vocation in the 20th century, and India was also part of that tradition. Bodybuilding culture existed in various parts of Bengal, in basic rural gyms. Prashant Kidambi, in his book Cricket Country, writes that among the well-known bodybuilders of the second decade of the last century was Professor Ramamurthy Naidu “whose displays of physical strength and endurance enchanted princes and plebians alike”.
Also read: Rohit sets captaincy world record; even Dhoni, Kohli couldn’t achieve
Various Indian wrestlers toured the West, flexing their muscles to adoring fans. Wrestler Dara Singh became part of folklore and filmdom. The superiority India enjoyed in bodybuilding was diminished by the rise of Christian missionary activity, as also the larger notion that the spirit is more important than the body. But all countries worship bodybuilding, and US presidents routinely invited heavyweight champions to the White House.
Sports in India has come a long way, and physical activity is no longer looked down upon, though Gopichand cast doubts on this rising national engagement with sports recently. People like Rohit Sharma, who have millions of adoring fans, will do well to emphasise on the power of the body to conquer the world — and, to prove the point, take a flying catch at cover point like Glen Philips.
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