Veteran India cricketer Mohammed Shami has responded to rumours about his alleged marriage to Indian tennis legend Sania Mirza. The rumours started through various social media posts after Sania’s divorce from former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik.

In a conversation with Shubhankar Mishra on his YouTube show ‘Unplugged’, Shami not only dismissed the rumours with a fiery reply but also criticised those who were spreading fake news. He said that while he understands that memes are made for humour and entertainment, one should make them responsibly without hurting the sentiments of others.

Shami added that if the memes had been shared from a verified social media account, he would have responded appropriately.

“Ajeeb hi hai aur hai kya usme? zabardasti kiya hai par kya karien? Telefoon kholo toh apna hi photo dikhta hai. Lekin mai ek hi cheez bolna chahunga – Kisiko nehi kheechna chahiye aisa. Main maanta hu memes aapke mazaak ke liye hai lekin kisi ke life se verderte hote hai. Toh aapko bari soch samajh kar memes banaan chahiye. (It’s weird and done on purpose for some lame laughs. But what can be done? If I open my phone, I would be able to see those memes. But I just want to say that I think memes are made for fun, but if they are related to someone’s life, then you have to think about it and then share such things. These people are sharing from unverified pages and getting away with saying anything and everything).”

“Lekin mai ek hi cheez bolna chahunga – agar aap mein dum hai toh verified page se bolke dikhao, fir hum batate hai. Dusre ki taang kheechna bohot aasan hai. Success achieve karo, apna level higher than karo. Tab main manunga aap acche insaan hai .” (But I would like to say one thing: if you have the guts to say all these things from a verified page, then I will reply. Try to achieve success, help people and upgrade yourself, then I will believe that you are a good person),” Shami said.

Shami also spoke about the recent T20I retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma after India’s T20 World Cup victory in Barbados last month.

Kohli was the first to announce his retirement from the format after winning the Player of the Match award for his knock of 76 off 59 to help India beat South Africa by just seven runs in the final at the Kensington Oval on 29 June. Kohli ultimately ended his career as the second-highest run-getter in T20I cricket, with 4,188 runs in 125 appearances in the format, complemented by a solitary ton and 38 fifties. Shortly after, Rohit, the highest-ever run-getter in T20Is with 4,231 runs in 159 matches, announced his retirement in the post-match press conference, followed by all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

“The retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from T20Is was a shock. They have been stalwarts for India, have delivered outstanding performances and earned their titles as kings of white-ball cricket. Their simultaneous retirement is surprising but it is part of the natural cycle when one player leaves and another steps in. Replacing such dice will be a significant challenge,” he said.