Ishan Kishan was warmly welcomed back to his hometown of Patna following India’s World Cup victory. During a press conference, the talented southpaw sidestepped a question regarding former cricketer Kirti Azad’s critical tweet. After India’s triumph in the T20 World Cup, captain Suyakumar Yadav and coach Gautam Gambhir, along with ICC Chairman Jay Shah, brought the trophy to a Hanuman temple, a move that sparked backlash from Azad, a member of the 1983 Cricket World Cup-winning team and current Trinamool Congress MP.
Azad expressed his dissatisfaction on X, stating that the trophy “belongs to 1.4 billion Indians of every faith.”
“SHAME ON TEAM INDIA! 😡 When we won the World Cup under Kapil Dev in 1983, we had a diverse team of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians. We celebrated the trophy in our homeland, India, Bharat, Hindustan. Why is the Indian Cricket Trophy being dragged through this?” Azad tweeted on March 9, 2026.
When reporters brought up Azad’s comments, Ishan Kishan preferred to redirect the conversation, asking for “better questions” that focused on cricket and the team’s recent success. “Ask a better question…” he responded.
Reflecting on India’s ICC World T20 win, Kishan expressed hope that the team would maintain their winning momentum and inspire future generations of players. “This is a fantastic achievement for the entire nation, and we aspire to continue performing at this level in the future. I aim to inspire more players to push forward…”
Kishan shone brightly during the T20 World Cup, finishing as India’s second-highest run-scorer with 317 runs, trailing only Sanju Samson. His standout performance came against Pakistan, where he scored 77 runs off 40 balls on a challenging pitch in Colombo. Another memorable outing was his explosive 61 off 40 balls against Namibia. Kishan also made a notable contribution in the semi-final against England, scoring 39 runs off 18 balls, although he couldn’t fully capitalize on that start. In the final against New Zealand, he contributed another half-century, helping India secure a 96-run victory over the Kiwis.