PANAJI
Having led India to a historic win against Pakistan in the Asia Cup Finals on Sunday, T20 Captain Suryakumar Yadav said the focus of the Indian cricket team has been to play fearless cricket and admitted the challenge in selecting the final 11 due to the abundance of talent and quality.
In an exclusive interview with Prudent TV after attending the inauguration of the ‘1919 Sportz Cricket Stadium’ at Verna IDC in Loutolim on Tuesday, Suryakumar Yadav said winning the Asia Cup was a great feeling.
“There was a rousing welcome for the team when the players landed in Mumbai,” said Yadav.
Commenting on the Asia Cup, Yadav said the main objective of the Indian cricket team was to play fearless cricket.
“There was no place for a conservative approach. We focused on playing good cricket and played a fearless brand of cricket.”
“The biggest takeaway was the positive attitude of the players, both on and off the field. The chemistry of the players was excellent on the ground, which is why we won the tournament.”
To another query, Yadav said the turning point in the Asia Cup finals was Tilak Varma, who showed composure and absorbed pressure.
“Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube handled the pressure well and achieved the required target,” said Yadav.
“We focused on playing good cricket. I had full trust in my players and had good backing from BCCI.”
Yadav said his decision to donate his match fees to the armed forces and the Pahalgam victims was taken while he was sitting in the dressing room before going to meet the press.
Responding to a query on his own form, Yadav said, “Although I have not scored runs, I am not out of form. I am out of runs. There is no reason to worry, as other players are scoring runs. Still, it is necessary for the captain to score runs for the team,” admitted Yadav.
The Indian T20 captain praised the abundance of talented cricketers in India.
“India currently has many talented cricketers. Selecting the final eleven is a challenge. This time too, there were hours of discussions before the final team selection. The Indian team is quite strong, and considering the bench strength and quality of players, we can form two or more teams,” said Yadav.
Commenting on the cricketing rivalry between India and Pakistan, Yadav said the BCCI would decide on whether to play Pakistan in the future or not.
“I cannot take this decision. We will have matches against Australia and other countries. There are no matches with Pakistan in the near future. Pakistan cannot be called a bitter rival, as we have won more than 10 consecutive matches with Pakistan,” he added.
