Suryakumar Yadav 'Hopeful' Of India Winning 2024 T20 World Cup

image-lpduhrieSuryakumar Yadav (Twitter)

A heartbreaking loss in the final of the ICC World Cup 2023 hasn't dampened India's spirits, insisted middle-order maverick and stand-in T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who remains "hopeful" of Men in Blue overcoming the setback and winning the 2024 T20 World Cup. 

Suryakumar, who was severely criticised for his struggles to 18 from 28 deliveries in the gut-wrenching loss in Ahmedabad to Australia, managed to display great mental toughness and made a fresh start with an amazing knock of 80 in India's win over the same opposition in the first T20I in Visakhapatnam on Thursday (November 23).

It was the curtains raiser on India's build-up towards the next ICC event and T20 cricket's biggest spectacle scheduled for next June in the Caribbean & USA. The interim skipper led the fresh-looking Indian team from the front and smashed the Aussies to bring the smile back on the faces of the teary-eyed Indian fans. 

Suryakumar Yadav Cheers Indian Fans After World Cup Final Defeat

Having taken the brunt of the fans under his stride and confronted his maiden pre-match press conference with a smile, Suryakumar now directly addressed the Indian cricket lovers in a heartwarming clip revealed by BCCI and shared their pain and the bitterness experienced since the Ahmedabad loss. 

The cricketer also promised that India will continue playing an aggressive brand of cricket as they did throughout the World Cup campaign and raised hopes of reclaiming the T20 World Cup crown next summer for the country. 

"It's been four-five days since the World Cup got over, we are all disappointed as fans and players," Suryakumar said. 

"But the unwavering support of our fans in India and globally was greatly encouraging. All I tell them right now is that at the end of the day, it's a sport, which teaches us a lot."

"We will try to be good in upcoming ICC tournaments & will play next year T20 World Cup the same way we played this time & we are hopeful of winning it next year," he added.

Suryakumar and Team India will be in action when they collide against Australia in the 2nd T20I on Sunday.