Suryakumar Yadav led India to 2026 T20 World Cup title.
India’s T20 World Cup 2026-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav set some big goals for the Indian team in the future after the recent success that the Men in Blue have had in ICC events.
India won the T20 World Cup 2024, the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, and capped it off with a 2026 T20 World Cup win in recent times. India also became the first team to win the T20 World Cup three times, the first team to win it at home as hosts,s and the first team to successfully defend their T20 title.
Suryakumar stated that the Indian T20I team's future aspirations include winning a hat-trick of T20 World Cups and Olympic gold at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
"It's a great thing that a big event is happening, and cricket is getting an entry into that. There are two events in that year—there is a T20 World Cup as well, that time, (and) the Olympics as well. So, why not? If you have done two in a row, why not three in a row in T20s and definitely the Olympic gold?" Suryakumar said in a video shared by BCCI.
Speaking at the BCCI Naman Awards 2026, Suryakumar Yadav stated India's 2024 T20 World Cup victory served as a catalyst, with several Indian teams across genders and age levels winning ICC titles in recent years.
"I think we just needed that one spark, or one step, which we actually crossed in 2024, and post that 2025 Champions Trophy, then the women's team winning that ODI World Cup back in 2025, and then in 2026.
That one step was important; that taste was important for everyone to understand what it takes to win an ICC trophy. Now, there is no looking back. If this wonderful thing has started, let's try and collect as many (trophies) as possible," Suryakumar said.
Suryakumar commended Rahul Dravid, the former head coach, and Gautam Gambhir, the current coach, for creating the practice of supporting the players.
"From where we left in 2024 under Rahul sir, we knew that we needed to show a lot of trust (and) belief in the players. Sometimes in sports, you won't be seeing good things happening around; there will be lots of ups and downs. You have to show a lot of trust in players and belief in them, and that's what we wanted to do when we started that new cycle for the 2026 T20 World Cup,” Surya said.
“Till the (2026) T20 World Cup came, we tried to make as few changes as we could. When you come into a big tournament like this, it's really important to stand by the players who have done really well for you in the last two years. We always knew that if we had created—as Gauti bhai (Gambhir) always says—a super team, we'd have picked a super team, so let's stick to them,” Surya concluded.
(PTI inputs)