The cricketer-turned-politician sparked controversy with a tweet targeting Team India captain Suryakumar Yadav, coach Gautam Gambhir and ICC chief Jay Shah.
After India won the T20 World Cup 2026 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on March 8, adding a third title to its portfolio, celebrations began across the length and breadth of the country. But the World Cup win soon had its share of controversy with one X post from 1983 World Cup winner and Trinamool Congress member Kirti Azad.
Known for his strong views, the cricketer-turned-politician criticized an act involving Team India captain Surya Kumar Yadav, head coach Gautam Gambhir and ICC president Jay Shah, immediately after the World Cup win, saying they had “dragged” the trophy into “the lap of one religion’s victory”.
What made Kirti Azad so unhappy with Team India?
After the team’s exit from the Narendra Modi Stadium, Suriya, Gambhir and Shah paid a visit to the nearby Hanuman temple with the trophy, an act that was well received by Azad, who took to X and wrote that the trophy belongs not just to one religion but to 1.4 billion people.
He said that, like in 1983, this T20 World Cup-winning team also included a Muslim and a Christian cricketer, and added that if the trophy is taken to a temple, it should be taken to a mosque and a church as well.
Azad’s post on
The post immediately went viral, generating many reactions. Some people posted on
How did Gambhir, Ishaan and Harbhajan respond to the remark
One of India’s top runners in the tournament, Ishan Kishan, was the first to respond to Azad’s critical statement. Upon arriving in his hometown Patna, after the win, Ishaan was speaking to the press when a journalist informed him about Azad’s post and sought his reaction to it. Skipping to respond directly, Kishan said that when the country celebrates a World Cup win, such questions should be avoided as they destroy the significance of such a huge achievement. “You’ve just won a fantastic World Cup – please ask better questions. What can I say about what Kirti Azad said? Please ask some good questions. Tell me how you felt and how much fun it was,” Kishan said in his reply.
Team India coach Gautam Gambhir, who is also known for his outspoken nature, couldn’t help himself and said that there is no point in choosing such statements that disparage the players and their hard work.
“…There is no point in picking on some statements as it only dilutes your achievements. If you want to dilute the efforts of these 15 players, anyone will wake up and say anything tomorrow,” Gambhir told news agency ANI in a podcast.
“It’s not fair to the boys. Imagine what they went through. The amount of pressure they went through. After losing the match to South Africa, the kind of pressure the boys are under, and if you make such a statement, you are disparaging your player and your team. It should not be done,” Gambhir added.
Read also: ‘Insulting’: Gautam Gambhir breaks silence after Kirti Azad spoils India’s T20 World Cup win with religious statement
Former India player and 2011 World Cup winner Harbhajan Singh also reacted strongly to Azad’s statement, saying it was ridiculous to see a TMC politician playing politics at a time when the country had won the World Cup. Harbhajan said that there is nothing wrong with players going to visit the temple to thank God Almighty after fulfilling their wish.
“It is unfortunate to hear these things from his fellow cricketers. Maybe they prefer politics to sports. It is even more unfortunate that he is a sportsman. The country has won the World Cup. Be happy, celebrate, but you are busy with politics. We say in our faith that all religions are the same. There may be different gods, but the path is the same. If they go to a temple, mosque or church, it is the same. It is their faith, it should not be so. Questioning it,” Harbhajan added.
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