'Those who troll aren't real Indians' – Mohammed Shami

This is not the first time someone was targeted for his faith and belief. Indian cricketer Mohammed Shami faced a lot of unnecessary hate and verbal abuse on social media after India faced a loss against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2021.

Shami ended his innings with a figure of 3.5-0-43-0 against Pakistan. Babar Azam and his men registered a comprehensive win with 10-wickets. The men in blue ailed again in the next match against New Zealand and were out of the tournament in the league stage itself.

Netizens trolled Shami in the worst way possible. After this horrible incident, his teammates and former cricketers came out to his support. The former captain Virat Kohli also coined the term spineless to the trollers.

I feel one should not get hurt by comments made by such people: Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami told Indian Express, "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."

He further added, "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. 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."

The real fans would definitely appreciate it: Shami

Speaking of his fans, the pacer said that the real fans always value and admire the efforts. He also feels disappointed when the team can not perform to a level. "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 teammates do understand."

"Of course, I am also hurt inside if runs go. I respect that sentiment in the true fans and teammates. 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 added.

During the conversation, he also shared and admitted the things that went south in the T20 World Cup. Shami said, "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 percent and no team can defeat us. It doesn't work like that. It's a game."