T20 World Cup 2021: "I deplore what's happening to Mohammed Shami" - Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra has come forward to deplore the online abuse and trolling being faced by Indian pacer Mohammed Shami after the team's defeat to Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2021.

Virat Kohli's men couldn't defend 152 in Dubai, with Mohammed Shami's figures of 0/43 being the most expensive. However, while most Indian players struggled in the match, the fast bowler and his family were specifically targeted with racial slurs and abuse on social media. Members of the cricket fraternity from around the world have since shared messages of their support.

Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra remarked that no player makes cricketing mistakes on purpose. The former opener asserted that there's nothing more important to an Indian cricketer than seeing his team win and that there should be no room for targeting a single player in a team sport.

Aakash Chopra said:

"I deplore what is happening to Mohammed Shami. There are two-three facets to this, let me tell you. Firstly, it's the team that wins and it's the team that loses... A dropped catch, problems in bowling or run-scoring, players don't do it on purpose, no? Every time you wear the Indian colors you go there to win and there's nothing more an Indian cricketer wants than an Indian win. Should one player be targeted? Absolutely not. There's neither a single hero in a team nor a single villain, that is not possible because it's a team game."

Aakash Chopra then came down heavily on the online trolls. He said a few thousand people, hiding behind the veil of anonymity, bring disrepute to the whole country. The cricketer-turned broadcaster also announced that he stands by Mohammed Shami and the entire Indian team.

Aakash Chopra claimed:

"The third-biggest facet I see in this is that there are just these 20-25 thousand faceless, nameless people who troll. They used to burn effigies, throw stones at houses before, and now have become online trolls. Their faces are not even good enough for a profile DP (display picture). They use an egg for it, use a random name and abuse hiding behind all the anonymity. These are just 10-15 thousand people who bring disrepute to the whole country. I don't think the whole country is blaming Shami. These few miscreants are making this atmosphere and then people put oil into the fire... I stand with Shami, the entire Indian team, and everybody who is playing on the field."

Many current and former cricketers have openly supported Mohammed Shami since the trolling started. However, there hasn't been any public statement on the subject from the BCCI or the team members currently in the UAE yet.

Get the complete T20 World Cup fixtures here.

Defeating New Zealand imperative for India: Aakash Chopra

India will now play against T20 World Cup 2021 New Zealand squad on Sunday in Dubai. Speaking about the qualification scenarios for the team, Aakash Chopra said that a win in this game is imperative for India's semi-final hopes.

He remarked that the defeat at the hands of Pakistan means India now have no room for a slip-up. Aakash Chopra added:

"The 'funda' for qualification is quite simple now - you have to defeat New Zealand. If you had won against Pakistan, you would have had a chance for a slip-up. We believe that Afghanistan, Namibia and Scotland will be defeated by New Zealand, Pakistan and us all. So if we believe that these defeats will happen, India defeating New Zealand becomes imperative. Because if India doesn't win against New Zealand then it will be two consecutive defeats and defeating Afghanistan, Namibia and Scotland won't be enough to qualify. So you don't have the room for a slip-up."

The India-New Zealand match will kick off at 7:30 PM IST on Sunday. India will then play against Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia in that order, in the tournament. The detailed T20 World Cup India schedule is available here.