Jay Shah, Gambhir and Suryakumar criticised after T20 World Cup trophy taken to temple

The decision to take the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup trophy to a Hindu temple has sparked criticism, with Jay Shah, Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav facing backlash from former India cricketer and politician Kirti Azad.

Posting on social media platform X, Azad questioned why the trophy was taken to a temple, arguing that it represented the entire nation rather than any single religion.

“If the trophy cannot be taken to a mosque or a church, why was it taken to a temple?” Azad wrote.

He also referred to India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj, saying that if Siraj could not take the trophy to a mosque, then taking it to a temple raised questions.

“This trophy belongs to 1.4 billion Indians, not to any one religion,” Azad said.

Azad said Gambhir and Suryakumar had accompanied Shah, the chairman of the International Cricket Council, when the trophy was taken to the temple, and asked in what capacity Shah had gone there with it.

He added that India’s 1983 Cricket World Cup-winning squad had players from multiple religions, stressing that the sport had historically represented the country’s diversity.