Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri was all praises for the Indian skipper Virat Kohli for taking a stand for Mohammed Shami from the criticism and abuses the pacer faced after team India’sdefeat to Pakistan. The Indian cricket team suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Pakistan by 10-wickets in Dubai on October 24.
Mohammed Shami turned out to be India’s most expensive bowler against Babar Azam-led Pakistani cricket team as he conceded 43 runs in 3.5 overs he bowled and went wicketless. Following India’s defeat against arch-rivals, Shami faced flak and abuses on social media after his poor bowling performance.
While the whole world seemed to be against Shami, the 33-year-old Indian skipper condemned the act from the netizens and backed his teammate to the best extent he could. Virat tore apart trolls who attacked Mohammed Shami.
Calling the trolls ‘a bunch of spineless people’ Virat Kohli had said: “There’s a good reason why we are playing on the field and not some bunch of spineless people on social media that have no courage to actually speak to any individual in person. They hide behind their identities and go after people through social media, making fun of people and that has become a social entertainment in today’s world, which is so unfortunate and so sad to see,”
He added: “This is literally the lowest level of human potential that one can operate at and that’s how I look at these people,”
Now talking about the same, former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri’s whose tenure came to end recently after the conclusion of India’s campaign in the T20 World Cup 2021. Shastri heaped praises on Shami for being a vital cog of India’s bowling attack across formats. He said:
“I heard about it later and that was ridiculous. Mohammed Shami, for me, has been a champion. He has been an integral part of the team over the last five years. If we have won anything overseas or in India, Shami, along with Jasprit (Bumrah), Umesh (Yadav) and Ishant (Sharma), has been absolutely fabulous,”
He condemned all the communal attacks and abuses Mohammed Shami received after India’s loss to Pakistan. As per him, it is ridiculous to single out a single guy for a game. Explaining his point, he also gave the example of Hasan Ali, who was brutally slammed after Pakistan’s defeat in the semi-final. He said:
“And to single one guy out for a game, for example if someone says that Pakistan lost the semi-final because someone dropped a catch, it’s ridiculous. Cricket is a team sport and it happens,”
He lauded the Indian skipper for taking a stand for Mohammed Shami. He said: “One message we had in our team, right from the beginning – you win as one and you go down as all. There’s never been finger-pointing in my dressing room. Virat was brilliant in the press-conference where he stood up for Shami. Hats off to him,”
