Team India’s star bowler Mohammed Shami, who was specifically aimed for his religion and exposed to social media abusive behavior in the fallout of India’s 10-wicket thrashing of arch-rivals Pakistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup, has now spoken out about the incident, saying that all those who hide behind a mask to end up causing such havoc are not “real Indians.” Here is about Mohammed Shami On Trolls And Abusers.
Shami reappeared with numbers of 3.5-0-43-0 versus Pakistan in Dubai on October 24, the day India’s incredible streak versus Pakistan at World Cups came to an end as Babar Azam and men gave India a humiliating defeat. A setback to New Zealand subsequently ensured that India, the pre-tournament underdogs, were eliminated in the group phase, as India dropped out of an ICC event in the league phase for the 1st time since 2012.
Former cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Irfan Pathan, and Virender Sehwag actively backed Shami, also while captain Virat Kohli also spoke out, describing the trolls as “spineless.”
“There is no cure for this kind of thinking. Those who troll (on religion) are not real fans, nor are they real Indians. If you consider a player as a hero and then behave this way, you are not being an Indian supporter. And I feel one should not get hurt by comments made by such people,” Shami told in an interaction.
“There was just one thing going on in my mind. If I consider someone as my role model, I will never speak ill about that person. And in case someone is saying something hurtful to me, he can’t be my fan or a fan of the Indian team. So actually, I don’t mind what he says.
“It is the mindset of people. It shows their low level of education. When people with unknown social media profiles, or even one with a few followers, point fingers at someone, they don’t have anything to lose. For them, nothing is at stake because they are nobodies. But in case we react to them as a role model, as a celebrity, as an Indian cricketer, we are giving them undue importance. We don’t need to engage with them”, he said.
“We know what we are, we don’t need to say what India means to us because we represent the country and we fight for our country. So we don’t need to prove anything to anyone by saying or reacting to such trolls,” he added.
True fans and my team-mates do understand: Mohammed Shami
Shami went on to say that true fans “would probably appreciate” the commitment their players put through, however, he, likewise, feels unhappy when the team has lost or he comes up short. The fast bowler did not say a word when it came to pointing out the trolls and haters.
“The real fans would definitely appreciate it. Even those who have played a little bit of the game can understand it. But for those who look for controversy, I don’t care what they think or whether they appreciate my game or not. I don’t care if they are laughing or crying. True fans and my team-mates do understand,” he said.
“Of course, I am also hurt inside if runs go. I respect that sentiment in the true fans and team-mates. Because I am also hurt. Just as I am disappointed, I can understand true fans are also disappointed. I always respect true fans. Don’t care about the abusers.”
Shami also revealed the reason behind the teams’ failure at the World Cup, Shami frankly confessed that the squad couldn’t really assure sufficient preparation and execution, which brought to their collapse.
“Yes, there were great expectations. But we are also human. Mistakes can happen. We didn’t execute properly and I admit that, but it’s not like that we can always execute 100 per cent and no team can defeat us. It doesn’t work like that. It’s a game”, he concluded.
