"Sport does not belong to any religion": 83 WC winner Kirti Azad questions coach, captain for taking T20WC trophy to temple

New Delhi [India], March 10 (ANI): Trinamool Congress MP and 1983 Cricket World Cup winning team member Kirti Azad slammed the move of the Indian team leadership group of skipper Suryakumar Yadav, head coach Gautam Gambhir and International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah to take the trophy to a Hanuman temple near the venue following their third title win.
A clinical Team India made history by securing a record-breaking third T20 World Cup title and becoming the first-ever team to defend the title and win it as a home nation following a brilliant 96-run win over New Zealand at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.
Following the win, Surya, Gambhir and Jay Shah went to a Hanuman temple near the stadium to seek the blessings of god and took the trophy along.
Speaking to the media, Kirti questioned the move, saying that a sportsperson or sport does not belong to any religion or caste.
"140 crore people were excited when Team India, which includes people from all religions, won. A sportsperson or sports does not belong to any religion or caste but only to the sport. As a sportsperson, I say Team India made India victorious. Team India won, and this is a matter of pride for the people of India."
Earlier on X, Kirti had wrote, "SHAME ON TEAM INDIA! When we won the World Cup under Kapil Dev in 1983, we had Hindu Muslim Sikh and Christian in the team. We brought the trophy to our religious birth place our motherland India Bharat Hindustan Why The Hell Is The Indian Cricket Trophy is being Dragged. Why NOT a Mosque? Why NOT a Church? Why NOT a Gurudwara? This Team Represents INDIA -- not Surya Kumar Yadav's or Jay Shah's Family ! Siraj never paraded it at a Mosque. Sanju never took it to a Church. latter had a major part to play and was man of the tournament. The Trophy Belongs to 1.4 BILLION Indians of EVERY Faith -- NOT ONE RELIGION'S VICTORY LAP! #T20WorldCup2026final #IndiaVsNewZealand #TeamIndia".

SHAME ON TEAM INDIA! 😡

When we won the World Cup under Kapil Dev in 1983, we had Hindu Muslim Sikh and Christian in the team.

We brought the trophy to our religious birth place our motherland India Bharat Hindustan

Why The Hell Is The Indian Cricket Trophy is being Dragged.…

— Kirti Azad (@KirtiAzaad) March 9, 2026

Coming to the match, NZ won the toss and elected to field first. However, a return-to-form, record-breaking fifty from Abhishek Sharma (52 in 21 balls, with six fours and three sixes) and his 98-run stand with Samson made NZ regret the decision. Later, Samson stitched a century stand with Ishan Kishan (54 in 25 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) to take India past the 200-run mark in the 16th over. After a brief slowdown, Shivam Dube (26* in eight balls, with three fours and two sixes) made some valuable runs to take India to 255/5, the highest total in T20WC finals. James Neesham (3/46) was the leading wicket-taker for NZ.
In the run-chase of 256 runs, Axar Patel (3/23) and Jasprit Bumrah (4/15) reduced the Kiwis to 72/5, despite a half-century from Tim Seifert (52 in 26 balls, with two fours and five sixes). Despite a brief partnership between Daryl Mitchell (17) and skipper Mitchell Santner (43 in 35 balls, with three fours and two sixes), India kept chipping in with wickets, and the Kiwis were bundled out for just 159 runs. (ANI)