Right after India won the big winner's title, a fresh controversy sparked on social media as former cricketer Kirti Azad criticised the decision to take the trophy to a temple following the victory. The remarks came after Captain Suryakumar, along with head coach Gautav Gambhir and BCCI secretary Jay Shah, visited a Hanuman temple in Ahmedabad to offer prayers with the trophy.

Kirti Azad questions religious symbolism

Reacting to the development, Azad took to the social media platform X and expressed his disapproval. The 1983 World Cup winner stated that the trophy belongs to 1.4 billion Indians, representing people of every faith and background in the country.

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He argued that sports should remain above religious identity and questioned whether the trophy would also be taken to other places of worship such as mosques, churches or gurudwaras. According to Azad, associating a national sporting victory with a particular religion could undermine the inclusive spirit that sports represent

Mixed reactions from the audience online

Azad's remarks quickly sparked a heated debate as reactions were neutrally active online. While some users supported his viewpoints, others defended the temple visit, calling it a personal act of thanking god rather than a political statement. This incident once again proved how often sports achievements in india gets ntersected with political discussions.