Former World Cup-winning Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has slammed former Indian spinner Kirti Azad for politicizing cricket after the latter's hurtful comments on Suryakumar Yadav and Jay Shah, accusing them of religious bias.
After India won the T20 World Cup on home soil, not one Indian fan is anything but delighted. However, controversies continue to find their way into every situation, and this time as well, a former cricketer and current politician has complicated the situation, pointing at a religious bias after Suryakumar Yadav, alongside coach Gautam Gambhir and Jay Shah, carried the trophy to a nearby Hanuman Temple to seek blessings.
These comments came from TMC MP Kirti Azad, whose party has been ruling over Bengal for over a decade and has been at loggerheads with the BJP government. The two parties have often had conflicts over using religious beliefs as propaganda.
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What did the 1983 World Cup winner say that irked Indian fans?
Kirti Azad was part of the Indian squad when they won the first-ever ICC trophy back in 1983. The former World Cup winner raised questions on Captain Suryakumar Yadav and Jay Shah for having taken the trophy to a 'Hindu' temple and not to the respective religious places of the other religions, like a Mosque or a Church.
He made some sharp accusations, claiming that the win was for the 1.4 billion Indians, which includes people of every religion, not just Hindus, and also highlighted that several players from other beliefs, like Mohammad Siraj and Sanju Samson, the player of the tournament, contributed heavily to India's success.
He also recalled the 1983 World Cup when India had Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian players in the team and brought the trophy back to India, which he called out as their, "...motherland India Bharat Hindustan.”
Harbhajan Singh gets back at Kirti Azad for unnecessarily politicizing cricket
While opinions on this issue would also split the Indian fans into two parties, yet it seems to be the unnecessary escalation of a trivial matter. Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh, who is also a former World Cup winner for India, also commented on the same.
Getting back to the senior spinner, Harbhajan said that it is absurd that, despite being a former cricketer himself, he is politicizing the simple act of the players taking a trophy into a temple.
Here's the video
Bhajji said, "It's absurd that someone is politicizing the players taking the trophy to a temple... Kirti himself is a former cricketer, so I didn't expect him to say such a thing... Perhaps he's prioritizing politics more and has forgotten he's a sportsman."
Harbhajan Singh takes a dig at the BCCI after the prize money announcement for Team India
Harbhajan Singh looked delighted at India winning the ICC tournament and wanted a bit more from the management to praise the cricketers, who, according to him, deserved a lot more.
The BCCI had announced an INR 131 crore prize money to the Indian Cricket Team after they won the ICC trophy for the second time in a row. However, Harbhajan felt that the prize could have been increased a bit more after all the hard work the team did over the past year.
Former Indian Cricketer and Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh said, "I was expecting more, because when such a big task is undertaken, the reward should be even greater. But congratulations to the team for their dominance in the World Cup, and for showing everyone how powerful India is."
ALSO READ: Gautam Gambhir praised as ex-England star blasts Babar Azam and Pakistan’s ‘personal milestones’ obsession
Ex-CSK spinner BLASTS at Kirti Azad over 'temple' visit comments after India's T20WC win
Published - 10 Mar 2026, 08:43 PM | Updated - 10 Mar 2026, 08:49 PM
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Former World Cup-winning Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has slammed former Indian spinner Kirti Azad for politicizing cricket after the latter's hurtful comments on Suryakumar Yadav and Jay Shah, accusing them of religious bias.
After India won the T20 World Cup on home soil, not one Indian fan is anything but delighted. However, controversies continue to find their way into every situation, and this time as well, a former cricketer and current politician has complicated the situation, pointing at a religious bias after Suryakumar Yadav, alongside coach Gautam Gambhir and Jay Shah, carried the trophy to a nearby Hanuman Temple to seek blessings.
These comments came from TMC MP Kirti Azad, whose party has been ruling over Bengal for over a decade and has been at loggerheads with the BJP government. The two parties have often had conflicts over using religious beliefs as propaganda.
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What did the 1983 World Cup winner say that irked Indian fans?
Kirti Azad was part of the Indian squad when they won the first-ever ICC trophy back in 1983. The former World Cup winner raised questions on Captain Suryakumar Yadav and Jay Shah for having taken the trophy to a 'Hindu' temple and not to the respective religious places of the other religions, like a Mosque or a Church.
He made some sharp accusations, claiming that the win was for the 1.4 billion Indians, which includes people of every religion, not just Hindus, and also highlighted that several players from other beliefs, like Mohammad Siraj and Sanju Samson, the player of the tournament, contributed heavily to India's success.
He also recalled the 1983 World Cup when India had Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian players in the team and brought the trophy back to India, which he called out as their, "...motherland India Bharat Hindustan.”
Harbhajan Singh gets back at Kirti Azad for unnecessarily politicizing cricket
While opinions on this issue would also split the Indian fans into two parties, yet it seems to be the unnecessary escalation of a trivial matter. Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh, who is also a former World Cup winner for India, also commented on the same.
Getting back to the senior spinner, Harbhajan said that it is absurd that, despite being a former cricketer himself, he is politicizing the simple act of the players taking a trophy into a temple.
Here's the video
Bhajji said, "It's absurd that someone is politicizing the players taking the trophy to a temple... Kirti himself is a former cricketer, so I didn't expect him to say such a thing... Perhaps he's prioritizing politics more and has forgotten he's a sportsman."
Harbhajan Singh takes a dig at the BCCI after the prize money announcement for Team India
Harbhajan Singh looked delighted at India winning the ICC tournament and wanted a bit more from the management to praise the cricketers, who, according to him, deserved a lot more.
The BCCI had announced an INR 131 crore prize money to the Indian Cricket Team after they won the ICC trophy for the second time in a row. However, Harbhajan felt that the prize could have been increased a bit more after all the hard work the team did over the past year.
Former Indian Cricketer and Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh said, "I was expecting more, because when such a big task is undertaken, the reward should be even greater. But congratulations to the team for their dominance in the World Cup, and for showing everyone how powerful India is."
ALSO READ: Gautam Gambhir praised as ex-England star blasts Babar Azam and Pakistan’s ‘personal milestones’ obsession
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India National Cricket Team Kirti Azad Harbhajan Singh ICC T20 World Cup Suryakumar Yadav Gautam Gambhir Jay ShahAbout the Author
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