Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 7 : Suryakumar Yadav is thrilled to lead India in a World Cup on home soil, especially at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. He underscored that playing at home brings added motivation and responsibility, but his team is ready to handle the pressure. Surya's mantra for the tournament is to focus on playing good cricket.
India will start their title defence against the USA at Wankhede on Saturday, aiming to become the first team to defend their T20 WC title and add a third T20 WC trophy to their cabinet. For Suryakumar, who made his international debut in 2021 at the age of 30, it is a special moment as after all the domestic cricket grind, the exploits for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL and the hustle as an Indian international cricketer, he has finally got a chance to play a home World Cup as a captain and to start the tournament at a venue where it all started for the India's 'Mr-360'.
Speaking in a video posted on BCCI's official website, Suryakumar, who was in a car at the Marine Drive during the video, where a massive trophy parade took place after the T20 World Cup 2024 win, reflected on being a part of that event where thousands of jubilant, ecstatic Indian fans gathered to celebrate the title win with their heroes.
"A couple of years back, there was no space to even breathe properly here (during the trophy parade after the T20 WC celebration). It was an unbelievable feeling as I experienced it for the first time. When you do not experience it, you do not know it. When I explained this feeling to the new players who are coming up, they got charged up," he said.
He also spoke on the team's mantra, saying, "Halke waqt mein ghabrana nahi, acche waqt mein paglana nahi" (Do not panic in bad times, do not get too overjoyed in good times."
"Excited to be a leader during the T20 World Cup in front of our home crowd at our home soil. Good challenge and a good responsibility. There is pressure. But we will try to overcome it playing some good cricket. It is a special feeling, I have played all my cricket here, even franchise cricket. So going back there in India, colours, leading the side in a World Cup, I feel a lot of excitement and a little nervousness. There would be butterflies in the stomach, but I am sure that the teammates and the fans will make my work easier," he added.
For India, Suryakumar has contributed 480 runs in 18 T20 WC matches and 17 innings at an average of 40.00 and a strike rate of almost 159, with five fifties and a best score of 68. Besides his batting exploits, his catch at long-off during the 2024 final at Barbados to remove David Miller in the final over, needing 16 runs in six balls, is one of the most iconic moments of Indian cricket history, with the commentator Jatin Sapru's call of 'long off...long off...long offfffff, Suryakumar Yadav ne pakda hai apne career ka sabse important catch" going down in the history as a piece of commentary that will replay in fans' minds for an entire lifetime.