Rohit Sharma’s wife Ritika Sajdeh’s ‘cartoon’ joke for Yuzvendra Chahal sparks social media outrage

When Rohit Sharma and his wife, Ritika Sajdeh, joined Harbhajan Singh and Geeta Basra on the YouTube series Who’s the Boss?, no one expected a throwaway quip would go this viral. Yet, during a rapid-fire round of one-word descriptions, Sajdeh’s choice of the word “cartoon” to describe India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal ended up triggering waves of criticism online.

What began as light-hearted banter has now become a reminder: even friendly ribbing can cross a line in today’s hyper-sensitive digital arena. Here’s what we know.

When, where, and why the “cartoon” quip came about

During the first episode of the show, Harbhajan and Basra listed the names of well-known Indian cricketers. The game entailed that the couple describe how they feel about the mentioned people in a single word. Rohit Sharma kicked things off, calling Kapil Dev “Fit,” and Yuvraj Singh “Very lazy.”

He also called Shikhar Dhawan as “Jatta” meaning friend. But when Yuzvendra Chahal was mentioned, Rohit paused to laugh, flashed a mischievous grin, but struggled to find an apt word. Ritika Sajdeh then said, “Cartoon. Usually he is a cartoon,” prompting laughter around the set.

The comment landed smoothly with Sajdeh’s trademark wit, though it quickly jumped off the show’s friendly confines.

Fans’ reaction and call for an apology

Within hours, clips of Sajdeh’s remark flooded social media. Fans lambasted the label as “unnecessary” and “demeaning”. “Such a shameless behavior,” wrote one user on X (formerly Twitter), “Imagine the outrage if Anushka had said that.”

Another even stated this was the “Result of the absence of wit, weak vocabulary, getting ahead of herself...,” while others echoed sentiments that mocking someone’s appearance or persona, even in jest, was uncalled for. Calls for an apology mounted but neither Sajdeh nor Sharma have publicly responded.

Yuzvendra Chahal has also not commented on the situation. Known for his vibrant personality and top-tier leg-spin, he was part of India’s 2024 T20 World Cup-winning squad and boasts 121 ODI and 96 T20I wickets. His record as the IPL’s leading wicket-taker further cements his status, as noted by ABP Live.

ALSO READ: What Happened Between Dhanashree Verma and Yuzvendra Chahal? Find Out How the Lockdown Romance Ended in Divorce