India’s T20 World Cup 2026-winning head coach Gautam Gambhir has given a sharp reaction to TMC MP and ex-India player Kirti Azad, who criticized the Indian team for taking the T20 World Cup trophy to a Hanuman temple right after winning it on Sunday, March 8.
Team India defeated New Zealand in the final of the T20 World Cup 2026 in Ahmedabad on Sunday by a massive 96 runs and became the first team to win the trophy three times, the first team to win the trophy as a host, and the first team to defend their title.
Right after the presentation, India captain Suryakumar Yadav, coach Gautam Gambhir, and ICC chairman Jay Shah were seen taking the trophy to a nearby Hanuman temple to pay respects and get blessings.
However, Kirti Azad slammed this gesture by the Indian team personnel and questioned why the Indian cricket team visits a temple every time after winning a trophy. Azad questioned why the squad, which included players of many faiths, couldn't instead visit a mosque, a church, and a gurudwara.
Azad stated that the trophy belonged to 1.4 billion people, not to a single religion's victory lap.
The Indian head coach, Gambhir, who was part of the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 Cricket World Cup-winning team, said that such comments dilute the achievements of the team.
“It is not even worth answering this question. Answering that question, it is a big moment for the entire country. If you ask me, then it’s a huge moment for our whole country. I think it’s important that we celebrate the World Cup winner. That’s why I said certain statements; there is no point picking up certain statements, because these statements will only dilute your achievement. If you want to dilute the achievements of those 15 players and their efforts, then tomorrow anyone can give any statement, and we start taking it seriously, which isn’t fair to the boys,” Gambhir told ANI.
He went on to say that such remarks just denigrate the team member who put in a lot of effort to win the prize.
“Imagine that the boys have gone through so much—the amount of pressure they’ve been under after losing one match in South Africa, the kind of pressures the boys were under. Today, if you are giving such a statement, you’re literally degrading your own players and degrading your own team, which should not be done,” said Gambhir.
