India will next face Australia in the second T20I on November 26 in Thiruvananthapuram.
Suryakumar Yadav thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his encouraging words after Team India's tough loss to Australia in the recent final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
Suryakumar, who is currently leading the Indian cricket team in the ongoing five-match T20I series against Australia at home, expressed gratitude to PM Modi for his heartwarming gesture.
The star cricketer further mentioned that Team India will maintain the same spirit as they start preparations for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in June.
Notably, India's hope of clinching the Cricket World Cup was shattered with a six-wicket defeat against Australia in the CWC 2023 final on November 19. In a touching moment, PM Modi visited the Indian team's dressing room to console the players, offering support after the heartbreak in Ahmedabad.
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Suryakumar Yadav was quoted as saying by ANI: “Just after the World Cup final we were sitting in the dressing room and our Prime Minister Narendra Modi came in and gave us motivation. He met everyone and told us to move on, as it happens in sport and we will have to take it in our stride.”
The 33-year-old added, “It will take some time for us to get over it but his motivational words for those 5-6 minutes and meeting us is a big thing as he is the country's leader. We listened to him carefully, spent time with him and will try to follow his suggestions.
We will try to do well in the upcoming tournaments and there is an ICC event coming up next year and we will play with the same spirit as this time and hopefully we will win.”
He also thanked the fans for their support during the CWC 2023. Surya signed off by saying, “It has been just 4-5 days since the World Cup got over and all are disappointed, we are also disappointed. But it was great to see the support of our fans in India and all over the world. At the end of the day, it is a sport and it teaches us a lot of things. I want to say that keep supporting us.”
(With ANI Inputs)