The statement of former Indian cricketer and Trinamool Congress leader Kirti Azad has intensified the stir. India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav had reached Hanuman Temple in Ahmedabad with the trophy after winning the T20 World Cup title, which Kirti Azad had termed as wrong. Now reactions of many veterans came to light on his statement, in which Harbhajan Singh and Gautam Gambhir were also included.

What did Gautam Gambhir say?

In an interview given to news agency ANI, Gautam Gambhir was asked about Kirti Azad’s statement on taking the trophy to the temple. Responding to this, Gambhir said, “Well, it is not right to answer this question. This is a big moment for the country. I think it is important that we should celebrate the World Cup. Such statements will only reduce your achievements. If you make such statements, you are insulting your players.”

#WATCH | On TMC MP & former cricketer Kirti Azad’s statement, Head Coach of Team India, Gautam Gambhir says in an interview with ANI, “…It is not even worth answering this question…These kinds of statements just degrade the players and team, which should not be done.”

Watch… pic.twitter.com/gIWtMpIbm8

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2026

What did Harbhajan Singh say?

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh, while talking about Kirti Azad’s statement, said, “It is absurd that someone is giving a political color to the incident of players taking the trophy to the temple. Kirti himself is a former player, so he was not expected to speak like this. Perhaps he is paying more attention to politics and has forgotten that he is a sportsman.”

Harbhajan Singh cooks Kirti Azad

“It’s absurd to politicise players taking the trophy to a temple. Kirti Azad himself is a former cricketer. I didn’t expect this from him. Maybe politics has taken priority and he’s forgotten he’s a sportsman.” pic.twitter.com/YbNSF6dsXS

— Brutal Truth (@sarkarstix) March 10, 2026

Ishaan also reacted

When Ishaan was asked questions about Kirti Azad’s statement, he apparently did not appear to be in a good mood. Ishaan said, “Win such a good World Cup. You guys ask good questions. What should Kirti Azad say? What should I say on this? Ask some good questions.”

Patna, Bihar: Cricketer Ishan Kishan says, “…What has Kirti Azad said about this? Now, what should I say about it?…” pic.twitter.com/P12gonGLVe

— IANS (@ians_india) March 10, 2026

Also read: Shivam Dubey reached Mumbai by train after winning the T20 World Cup, traveled secretly in the 3rd AC! Know the reason

The government of Pakistan has decided not to play the match against India in the T-20 World Cup. On this matter, the Pakistan government said in a statement issued on its social media account that it has given permission to the Pakistan cricket team to participate in the tournament, but the team will not take the field in the match against India in Colombo on 15 February. With this decision, the ongoing speculation regarding Pakistan’s participation in the tournament ended. ABP News spoke to Lok Sabha member and former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad on this issue.

Kirti Azad was asked that Pakistan has refused to play against India in the T-20 World Cup. On this, the former Indian cricketer said that Pakistan knows that it cannot win against India, hence why doesn’t it die? He is doing this to save his honour, but when the terrorist attack happened in Pahalgam, we should not have played only then, we should have given a strong message that Pakistan is a terrorist country and we cannot play cricket matches against it.

The final decision will be taken by the government

This decision has come to the fore in an environment of increased political tension in the region, with the tournament being jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The government said on social media, ‘The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan approves the participation of the Pakistan cricket team in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, however, the Pakistan cricket team will not take the field in the scheduled match against India on 15 February 2026.’ Earlier, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had said that after Bangladesh was thrown out of the tournament, the final decision on the team’s participation will be taken by the government.

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