India became the first team to win the T20 World Cup three times.
Suryakumar explained that while both teams were equally skilled, the difference lay in their mindset.
“There was just an ‘unnis bees ka farak.' Woh experience wala josh tha; idhar ekdum khoon garam tha ladkon ka. In 2024, we had a lot of experience and clearly defined roles. There are good players now as well, but that team had immense experience,” he said in a PTI interview.
The 2024 T20 World Cup triumph had experience in the form of Rohit Sharma, the captain, and the likes of Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja. On the other hand, the 2026 T20 World Cup-winning team had young guns like Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma.
Leading a relatively youthful group in 2026 also required moderating expectations, especially because the tournament was hosted at home. Suryakumar explained that he had to mentally prepare his team for the importance of the event.
“All the guys are 25 to 27 years old. It was important to tell them what it feels like to win a World Cup in India, with 50,000 or even a lakh people cheering. Skill-wise, there’s only a slight difference in T20 cricket, but this time there was more enthusiasm.
The goal was the same, but the emotion in 2026 was more because we were playing in India. Winning it in Ahmedabad made it even more special,” he said.
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