Veteran India pacer Mohammad Shami has opened up on the online abuse he copped following India’s defeat to Pakistan at the T20 World Cup last year.

Team India were outplayed by the arch-rivals in Dubai as they posted a par total of 151/7 in 20 overs and Pakistan chased it down with 10 wickets in hand and 13 balls to spare.

Shami had a tough outing in that marquee clash, conceding 43 runs in his 3.5 overs. After the game, the fast bowler’s Instagram feed was filled with deplorable comments and abuses.

In an exclusive chat with The Indian Express, Shami on Monday (February 28) termed the trolls as neither real fans nor real Indians.

"When people with unknown social media profiles or even one with a few followers point fingers at someone, they don't have anything to lose. For them nothing is at stake because they are nobodies... we don't need to engage with them," Shami said.

“There is no cure for this kind of thinking. Those who troll (on religion) are not real fans, nor are they real Indians. If you consider a player as a hero and then behave this way, you are not being an Indian supporter. And I feel one should not get hurt by comments made by such people.”

“There was just one thing going on in my mind. If I consider someone as my role model, I will never speak ill about that person. And in case someone is saying something hurtful to me, he can’t be my fan or a fan of the Indian team. So actually, I don’t mind what he says,” he added.

Shami further said that he did not need to prove his loyalty to the country to anyone.

"We know what we are, we don't need to say what India means to us because we represent the country and fight for the country.

"So we don't need to prove anything to anyone by saying or reacting to such trolls."

Since making his debut in 2013, Mohammad Shami has claimed 209 wickets in 57 Tests, 148 wickets in 79 ODIs, and 18 wickets in 17 T20Is.

According to Shami, the current Indian pace attack is the best ever.

"With the kind of Test match bowling we have now, I don't think we ever had such a period in our cricketing history," he said.