Suryakumar Yadav is excited to captain India in the T20s against Australia but says it will take time to move on from the heartbreaking loss in the ODI World Cup final three days ago. (Streaming | Key Battles | Preview | Scorecard | Cricket News)
Captain for Australia's tour of India, Suryakumar Yadav presented his views on India's disappointing defeat to the same opponent mere days earlier in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Yadav also spoke of his excitement in leading a fresh-faced squad for the mini-tournament
Suryakumar Yadav is excited to captain India in the T20s against Australia but says it will take time to move on from the heartbreaking loss in the ODI World Cup final three days ago. (Streaming | Key Battles | Preview | Scorecard | Cricket News)
The scheduling in international cricket is such that both India and Australia will return to the field in the opening game of the five-match T20 series starting here on Thursday, albeit with a different set of players, 96 hours after the World Cup final in Ahmedabad.
Surya, who could have done more in India's near-perfect campaign in the World Cup, was expectedly asked about the ill-fated Sunday night on the eve of the T20 series opener.
"It is difficult it will take time, it can't be that you wake up next morning and you forget everything what happened. It was a long tournament. We would have loved to win it," said Surya, who will lead the side in Hardik Pandya's absence.
"But as you get up in the morning the sun rises again, there is light at the end of the tunnel. You have to move on. It is a fresh team (T20 squad), really looking forward to the challenge."
Surya said support from the fans and families is helping him and the rest of the players to move on from the disappointment.
"Obviously, a little disappointing but when you look back at the journey it was a great campaign. All of India and our families were proud about the way everyone displayed their talent on the ground.
"We played a positive brand of cricket throughout the tournament. We can be very proud of that," said the aggressive batter.
Captain Rohit Sharma was the game changer for India with the bat in the World Cup as his explosive starts helped the team win a record 10 games in a row.
"He (Rohit) has set the example. It was a completely different Rohtit Sharma, he walked the talk. What we talked about in team meetings he did the same thing in the ground. We are very proud of him, he led by example and hopefully we will replicate that (in the T20s)," Surya said.
Rohit, Virat Kohli and K L Rahul are not part of the squad having played their last T20 match in the World Cup last year.
The T20 squad is full of IPL performers who are yet to prove themselves at the highest level. The likes of Rinku Singh, who made his debut in Ireland and was also part of the Asian Games, and Tilak Varma, will face their toughest test in international cricket against Australia.
"I met the squad in the afternoon today. I told them lets be selfless when you go on to the field. I am a guy who doesn't think about personal milestones. I have told them to keep the team first," Surya said.
"Keeping the (2024) T20 World Cup in mind, all the games we are going to play are very important. I want us to be fearless."
Who among Jitesh Sharma and Ishan Kishan will be the designated wicket-keeper batter in the team?
"Ishan has been doing well, we wanted to keep continuity. He has been doing really well for us, including the Asia Cup and World Cup, batting in different positions. Both of them are front runners. We will take a call tonight," Surya said with a laugh.