Fans abuse Mohammad Shami, accuse him of taking money from Pakistan after India's defeat

The only Muslim player in the team was accused of accepting money from the rival team to lose the match.

Chasing 151 runs to win, Pakistan achieved the target without losing a wicket and 13 balls to spare. Earlier, Virat Kohli (57) and Rishabh Pant (39) helped India post 151/7 in 20 overs. The pair led the recovery for the team after Pakistan reduced them to 36/3 in the powerplay. Mohammad Rizwan (79*) and Babar Azam (68*) together chased down India's 151/7 as they recorded a 10 wicket victory in both teams' first match of the 2021 T20 World Cup. This was the heaviest and only defeat for India at the hands of Pakistan in a men's cricket World Cup match.

Shami, who bowled the 18th over of the match, conceded 17 runs in five balls. This did not go down well with the jingoist fans, who took to Instagram to question the Indian player's integrity due to his Muslim identity.

Saddened by the brazen Islamophobia, many cricket fans have also urged skipper Virat Kohli and his team members to publicly express their solidarity in support of Shami.

One user wrote, "Bloody Pakistani in Team India." Another wrote, "A Muslim sided with Pakistan. How much money did you receive?" "Sir how much money did you receive to help your community (Muslims) win?"

Ironically, the development took place on a day the Indian cricket team took the knee in solidarity with the global campaign, BlacksLiveMatter. Many now wonder if Kohli and his teammates would publicly condemn the hounding of Shami just the way the England football team reacted after three Black players faced racist attacks from bigot fans for missing penalties during this year's Euro championship.