Ankur Warikoo slammed for body-shaming Prithvi Shaw, commenting on the cricketer’s mother; here’s why

livemint.com:

Indian cricket sensation Prithvi Shaw finds himself at the centre of an online storm as a recent body-shaming incident has caused a stir. The latest critic to voice controversial comments is an Indian-American entrepreneur named Ankur Nagpal. Using "X" (previously known as Twitter), Nagpal took a jibe at Shaw's physical appearance after images of the cricketer's recent achievements went viral.

Nagpal's contentious post, featuring an image of Shaw celebrating his incredible double century, took aim at Shaw's bald appearance and physique. He quipped, “Indian diet and genetics are unparalleled. This is a 23 year old Indian athlete.

23!" However, things got more intense when investor and social media influencer Ankur Warikoo “joined in the ridicule" and wrote, “Bet his mom thinks “patla ho gaya hai" (his mum must be thinking he’s become slimmer)." However, Warikoo was quick to realise his mistake because Shaw lost his mother when he was a child. “I realize my mistake after people's responses. This pic is Prithvi Shaw's who lost his mother at the age of 4.

Which makes my post extremely insensitive and not something I am proud of. In an attempt to invoke my mom's natural reaction to my fitness levels in my 20s, I made a horrible mistake. @PrithviShaw - I do not expect you to read this or least of all forgive me.

But it is my responsibility to apologize for this. I am truly sorry." Warikoo said that he was not deleting his “insensitive" comment so that it continued to “act as a reminder" for him. “For clarification - I do not follow cricket actively, so I was not aware of Prithvi (beyond his name).

Would have acted differently was I aware of him and his history," he added. Warikoo’s comment was not taken well by netizens. “I