T20 World Cup | Playing on home soil brings a lot of motivation and responsibility: Suryakumar

Suryakumar Yadav has developed a knack for cracking jokes during his media interactions as India’s T20I captain. While that trait was on display on Friday, there was also a sense that the next four weeks could prove defining in the late bloomer’s remarkable career.

“Playing on home soil is always exciting. I felt that when we played the ODI World Cup in 2023. Crowd coming in numbers, people having a chat around when you are travelling to the airport, so it’s a good thing,” Suryakumar said at the Wankhede Stadium, ahead of India’s Men’s T20 World Cup opening fixture against the United States of America on Saturday.

“It gives you motivation all the time. At the same time, it brings a lot of responsibility as you are getting to lead such a wonderful side, that too in India, starting at Wankhede. So the boys are very excited to take the field tomorrow [Saturday]. I am sure there will be a lot of excitement.”

India will face the USA 19 months after last coming up against a squad comprising largely of sub-continental expatriates. In addition to left-arm pacer Saurabh Netravalkar and Harmeet Singh, Suryakumar will also square off against Shubham Ranjane — the third of his former Mumbai teammates set to line up against India.

Good opportunity

“They have gone now to the land of dollars, but I see it from a good perspective. It’s good that people are getting an opportunity. Even though they are playing from other countries, it’s a good opportunity for them,” Suryakumar said. “I have played a lot of cricket with them. But right now, we are having fun with our own cricket.”

The India captain also hinted that Ishan Kishan, who opened the innings during Wednesday’s warm-up match against South Africa, is likely to continue at the top of the order alongside Abhishek Sharma.