Suryakumar Yadav Says India Fully Prepared For T20 World Cup Title Defence

Defending champions India began their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup campaign with a confident 29-run victory over the USA in Mumbai, and skipper Suryakumar Yadav believes his side is well equipped to go all the way once again.

Speaking after the win, Suryakumar expressed strong confidence in India’s preparation and mindset heading into the tournament.

“If you prioritise team goals ahead of personal milestones, more often than not, I feel the team will be in a dominant position. Only we can stop ourselves from overanalysing or slipping into a negative mindset, but I believe this team is fully prepared for the T20 World Cup. I don’t see any reason why we can’t go all the way,” Suryakumar Yadav said on JioStar.

The Indian captain also highlighted the team culture that has contributed to their impressive performances in the T20 format over the last 18 months. He stressed the importance of open communication and allowing players to express themselves freely.

“Honesty and freedom of speech are essential to a team sport. It’s important to listen to other players, as they may have insights that could benefit the team. Also, giving everyone the freedom to play their natural game, which has helped them reach this level, is key to maintaining a healthy team atmosphere. Looking at our win percentage over the last one or two years, which has been impressive, we must be doing something right,” he added.

India’s strong start was powered by Suryakumar’s unbeaten 84 off 49 balls, an innings that guided the team to a competitive total and ensured control throughout the contest against the USA.

The defending champions will now face Namibia in their second group-stage fixture at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Thursday. Following that match, India will play the much-anticipated clash against Pakistan in Colombo on February 15 before heading to Ahmedabad for their final group-stage game against the Netherlands on February 18.

India squad: Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar.