Not known to be a man who minces his words, India head coach Gautam Gambhir has hit back at cricketer-turned-politician Kirti Azad’s criticism of the team’s temple visit with the T20 World Cup trophy. Azad criticised the Indian team, Gambhir, and the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah for visiting the Hanuman Temple in Ahmedabad soon after India beat New Zealand in the final to win the trophy. Gambhir hit back at Azad, saying that such remarks “degrade his own team and players, which should not be done.”
India’s triumphant T20 World Cup squad, led by captain Suryakumar Yadav and coach Gambhir, visited a Hanuman temple in Ahmedabad to offer prayers with the trophy. The gesture drew sharp criticism from 1983 World Cup winner and Trinamool Congress MP Kirti Azad, who questioned why the trophy was taken only to a temple and not to other places of worship, calling it discriminatory.
Gambhir, known for his outspoken nature, defended the team’s choice and gave a strong response to Azad over the controversial remarks.
“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 said during a chat with ANI. He stressed that players should be allowed to celebrate in their own way without political or religious interference.
“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,” he added.
#WATCH | On TMC MP & former cricketer Kirti Azad’s statement, Head Coach of Team India, Gautam Gambhir says in an interview with ANI, “…It is not even worth answering this question…These kinds of statements just degrade the players and team, which should not be done.”
Watch… pic.twitter.com/gIWtMpIbm8
— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2026
The India coach maintained that the focus should remain on the achievement of winning India’s third T20 World Cup title, not on how the team chose to celebrate.