21 September,2020 05:20 AM IST | New Delhi | AFP
Mumbai Indians's Saurabh Tiwary and CSK's Piyush Chawla (right) were body shamed online
Leading cricketers from Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have been slammed for their "healthy waistlines" during the opening match of the Indian Premier League in Abu Dhabi.
Some players were returning to professional cricket for the first time in six months after global sport was put on hold amid the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The virus-delayed T20 tournament was postponed and then moved to the United Arab Emirates, with India's cricket-crazy fans watching Chennai outplay Mumbai on Saturday on their televisions and mobile phones.
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Many expressed surprise at seeing top players including Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma, batsman Saurabh Tiwary and Chennai spinner Piyush Chawla sporting a post-lockdown paunch. "I have never played more than gully cricket but I am pretty shocked to see some players in the #IPL2020 looking so unfit. I can't think of another physical sport where players at the highest level could cope with these fitness levels," former India hockey captain Viren Rasquinha wrote on Twitter.
"Couple of healthy waistlines today," tweeted commentator Harsha Bhogle. Social media users joked that the cash-rich IPL was now the India Paunch League. "Indian Paunch League looking at all the bulging waistlines...looks like a veterans series match," one user tweeted.
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