Congress, Trinamool, Shiv Sena (UBT) criticise PM Modi entering dressing room of Indian cricket team after their loss in CWC final (Ld)

New Delhi: The Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Tuesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for entering the dressing room of the Indian cricket team after their defeat in the ICC World Cup final tournament.

In a post on X, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "The video of the self-imposed, choreographed consolation by the ‘Master Of Drama in India’ has completely exposed the insincerity behind the photographs released yesterday. The face-saving exercise has backfired. The youth of India will not be fooled by these desperate antics."

Trinamool Congress leader Kinewrti Azad Jha also slammed the Prime Minister saying that the dressing room is the sanctum sanctorum of any team and the ICC does not allow anybody to enter these rooms apart from the players and the support staff.

In a post on X, Jha a three-time former MP, ex-cricket player and a member of the 1983 World Cup winning team, said, "The dressing room is the sanctum sanctorum of any team. ICC does not allow anybody to enter these rooms apart from the players and the support staff. Prime Minister of India should have met the team outside the dressing room in the private visitor area."

"I say this as a sportsman and not politician. Would Narendra Modi allow his supporters to come and console or congratulate him in his bedroom, dressing room or the toilet?" Jha asked after the video of the Prime Minister meeting the players of the Indian cricket team in the dressing room after their defeat in the final match of the Cricket World Cup tournament against Australia surfaced.

"Sportspersons are far more disciplined than politicians. Last, but not the least, the man and whose team did it for India in 1983 Kapil Dev was also not invited. Now tell me who is doing politics?" said the Trinamool Congress leader while slamming the cricket body for not inviting Kapil Dev to watch the 2023 Cricket World Cup final match in Gujarat's Ahmedabad.

Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, too, hit out at the Prime Minister, saying that the cricketers clearly looked uncomfortable having to deal with the loss and then have cameras thrust on them in the dressing room.

In a post on X, Chaturvedi said, "The Indian cricketers clearly look uncomfortable, having to deal with the loss and then have cameras thrust on them inside the dressing room for the Prime Minister’s team to record ‘pep talk’. Yeah you can troll this tweet as much as you want."

India lost to Australia in the Cricket World Cup final by six wickets played at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. Australia lifted the Cricket World Cup trophy for the sixth time.