After losing the 2023 World Cup to Australia, Team India are all set to take on them in the limited-over series. While the aggressive batting template set by Rohit Sharma has a positive effect on Indian cricket, Suryakumar Yadav, the stand-in captain said that they are looking to “try and replicate the same thing” going forward.
“What he’s done in the World Cup is one thing which will set an example,” Suryakumar, India’s stand-in T20I captain, said of Rohit on the eve of the first match in Visakhapatnam. “It was a completely different Rohit Sharma that you saw. I mean, he literally walked the talk; what we spoke about in the team meetings, he did the same thing on the ground. We are very proud of him. As a leader he led by example and we’ll try and replicate the same thing.”
Suryakumar Yadav, who will be leading India for the first time, opened up on their planning in the press conferences.
“I am also young yaar!” Suryakumar Yadav said with a smile when he was asked about leading the ‘young’ guys in the side. “What I told them [squad] when I met them in the afternoon today was let’s be very selfless when we go into the field. Because I’m a guy who doesn’t think too much about the personal milestones and instead thinks of the team’s goal. And I’ve always told them that you have to keep the team first and then whatever comes after that, you can take your call. And I’ve played with them a lot of times during the IPL and a few India games as well, so they know how I function. And it wasn’t that difficult and we are really excited to go about in the series.”
Meanwhile, he also opined on their journey in the 2023 World Cup. “Difficult” and “disappointing” is how he referred to the aftermath of that big loss in Ahmedabad.
“It is difficult. It will take time. I mean it can’t be that you get up the next morning and you forget everything that happened. It was a long tournament and obviously we would have loved to win but then as you say, when you get up in the morning, there’s always sunrise again, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. You have to forget it. Move on. It’s a fresh team. New boys, great energy, so we are really looking forward to this T20 series,” he further added.
However, as the captain of India now, Suryakumar Yadav is trying to carry forward the brand of cricket that India played through the World Cup.
“I mean, it is obviously a little disappointing. But at the end, when you look back at the journey, it was a really great campaign [for] each and every member – not only the players but also the support staff. All of India and all our families were very proud of the way each and everyone displayed their talent on the ground. That was the positive, the brand of cricket which we played throughout the tournament, and we can be very proud of that,” Suryakumar Yadav concluded.
