“Panauti is the worst word to use for PM,” says Gautam Gambhir, responding to criticism of PM Narendra Modi following India’s defeat in the World Cup.

At the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Team India lost heartbreakingly to Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 final. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Indian team’s locker room after the game to encourage them after a rare defeat during an otherwise perfect campaign.

Nevertheless, other politicians took exception at Modi’s appearance in the stadium and the locker room, calling him “panauti” and teasing him for bringing misfortune with him. Gautam Gambhir, the 2011 World Cup champion and former cricket player for India, recently defended the prime minister, saying that the phrase is terrible, especially for a prime minister.

The former India opener went on to draw comparisons between Modi’s attendance and that of previous Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, who was also there during the pivotal 2011 World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan.

“The term ‘panauti’ that was used is maybe the harshest phrase that could have been uttered against anyone, especially this country’s prime leader. Dr Manmohan Singh watched the 2011 Cricket World Cup semi-final. What would have been wrong with that if we had lost that match and he had come to see us? Gambhir recently stated this on a podcast.

Gautam Gambhir in a podcast. pic.twitter.com/6RGpiZPI6T

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 8, 2023

Pat Cummins received the prize from PM Narendra Modi and the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia.

Remarkably, World Cup finalist Richard Marles, Australia’s deputy prime minister, was also present. Following Australia’s victory against the hosts to secure their sixth World Cup championship, Marles and PM Modi gave the trophy to captain Pat Cummins.

India was batting first when the game began, and skipper Cummins (2/34) bowled superbly to remove both Virat Kohli (54 off 63) and Shreyas Iyer (4 off 3), knocking them out for a meager score of 240. In response, Australia reached the goal in 43 overs thanks to a brilliant century from Travis Head (137 off 120).