World Cup-winning skipper credits IPL, domestic cricket for country’ depth
NEW DELHI: India’s T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav believes the country’s talent pool in the shortest format has grown so vast that it could comfortably field two or even three international-quality teams at the same time, underlining the depth created by a thriving domestic structure and franchise ecosystem.
The flamboyant batter, who has overseen a period of remarkable consistency since taking over the leadership after the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, credited the steady pipeline of players emerging from domestic competitions and the Indian Premier League for strengthening India’s dominance in T20 cricket.
Since Suryakumar took over the captaincy in 2024 — right after Rohit Sharma stepped down following the World Cup victory in Barbados — the Indian team has won 42 of the 52 matches played, reflecting team’s dominance in a fickle format.
In a podcast interview with PTI Videos on Sunday, Suryakumar called the current group “the best T20 team India has produced”, adding that India’s depth in T20 cricket is now too evident to be downplayed.
“If you talk about talent, I feel you can find talent regularly. There is IPL cricket, franchise cricket, then there is domestic cricket. You can see how many players come every year. So you can make as many teams as you want in T20 when I am talking about T20,” Suryakumar said.
“So I feel talent is unlimited. If you can make two-three playing XIs, our base is so strong, of the Indian team. So this is not a modest and diplomatic reply. But now it is so strong, so there is no shame in telling the truth,” he said.
Team effort behind 80 per cent win rate
Suryakumar credited the team’s success coming into the World Cup to a collective approach in the dressing room, saying a shared vision among players and support staff helped produce an impressive 80 per cent win rate in a notoriously unpredictable format.
Even with that success rate, the World Cup was not going to be a cake-walk because as Suryakumar noted, “we played bilateral matches one way, and in ICC tournament something else happened.” For this reason, he needed to motivate the team to maintain the winning streak in the Feb 7 to March 8 tournament.
“I don’t pay too much attention to statistics but I hate losing any game. If everyone in the dressing room moves in the same direction, only then can you achieve such a percentage,” he said
India’s consistency in T20Is over the past 18 months has been widely attributed to a stable leadership group led by Suryakumar and head coach Gautam Gambhir.
PTI