Members of the India national cricket team continued their celebrations of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup triumph by visiting the Shree Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai on Saturday, even as their previous temple visit had triggered a debate following remarks by former cricketer-turned-politician Kirti Azad.Head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav along side ICC Chairman Jay shah had earlier visited the temple with the trophy in Ahmedabad after the victory and, offering prayers despite the controversy surrounding the earlier visit.Kirti Azad questions temple visitThe debate began after Kirti Azad criticised the team’s decision to take the trophy to a temple, arguing that the World Cup victory belonged to all Indians regardless of religion.“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,” Azad said. “Why not a mosque? Why not a church? Why not a gurudwara? The trophy belongs to 1.4 billion Indians of every faith, not one religion’s victory lap,” he added. Harbhajan Singh criticises Azad’s remarksFormer India spinner Harbhajan Singh strongly criticised Azad’s comments, accusing him of unnecessarily politicising the issue.“It’s absurd that someone is politicising 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 prioritising politics more and has forgotten he’s a sportsman,” Harbhajan 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 showing everyone how powerful India is,” he added.Gambhir also defends team’s celebrationGautam Gambhir also defended the team’s actions, saying the controversy was unnecessary and risked overshadowing the players’ achievements.“It is not even worth answering this question. It’s a huge moment for the entire country and we should celebrate the World Cup winners,” Gambhir said in a conversation with ANI.“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. That isn’t fair to the boys.”“The boys have gone through so much pressure. If you give such statements today, you are degrading your own players and your own team.”Players brush aside controversyMeanwhile, India batter Ishan Kishan dismissed questions about the controversy, urging the media to focus on the team’s historic achievement instead.“Winning the World Cup is such a great thing. You people should ask good questions. What can I say about what Kirti Azad said? Please ask good questions so that it’s enjoyable,” Kishan said.
