Harbhajan Singh gave a befitting reply to Kirti Azad’s ‘Temple controversy’, said- "Don’t listen to them, keep sports and politics separate"
New Delhi: After the historic victory of the T20 World Cup 2026, Indian team captain Suryakumar Yadav, head coach Gautam Gambhir and ICC Chairman Jay Shah took the trophy and offered prayers at Hanuman Temple in Ahmedabad. Former cricketer and TMC MP Kirti Azad raised questions on this incident, on which now former Indian spinner and Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh has taken a strong stand.
What was the dispute?
In the final played at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on 8 March 2026, India defeated New Zealand by 96 runs. India scored 255/5 (Sanju Samson 89, Ishan Kishan 54, Abhishek Sharma 52), while New Zealand were bowled out for 159 (Jasprit Bumrah 4 wickets). This was India’s third T20 World Cup trophy and the first to be defended on home ground.
After the victory, the same night Suryakumar, Gambhir and Jay Shah reached Hanuman temple near the stadium with the trophy and took blessings.
Kirti Azad slammed this on social media, saying: “There are players of every religion in the team, the game has no religion. The trophy belongs to 140 crore Indians, not to any one religion. If this continues then what difference will be left between India and Pakistan? I never added religion while playing. Why not mosque, church or Gurudwara?”
Harbhajan Singh’s counterattack
Describing Kirti Azad’s statement as politically motivated, Harbhajan Singh said, “Don’t listen to him. Sports and politics should be kept separate. If you have faith then go to the temple, go to the Gurudwara, go to the mosque or go anywhere. If Suryakumar and Gambhir had made a wish and took the trophy, then it is their personal wish. It is absolutely wrong to raise questions on it.”
Harbhajan further said that temple, mosque, church and gurudwara are all equal. Questioning the faith of players or board members is shameful. He said, “Kirti himself is a former cricketer, this was not expected from him. Perhaps he is putting politics above sports.”
This statement is further intensifying the debate in the cricket world, where on one hand there is talk of freedom of faith, and on the other hand there is talk of keeping the game separate from religion. Many former players and fans are in favor of Harbhajan, while some seem to agree with Kirti Azad’s argument.
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