India skipper Suryakumar Yadav opened up on head coach Gautam Gambhir’s strong message to the team before the T20I series against Bangladesh.
On Saturday (October 12), the Men in Blue hammered Bangladesh by 133 runs in the third and final T20I in Hyderabad to clinch the series 3-0.
Suryakumar said India wanted to have cricketers who play selflessly without worrying about personal milestones. He showered rich praise on Sanju Samson for playing his shots freely and propelling the hosts to a record score of 297/6 in 20 overs.
Samson slammed the second-fastest T20I hundred by an Indian off 40 deliveries and went on to score 111 runs in just 47 balls, including 11 boundaries and eight sixes. He also shared a partnership of 173 runs for the second wicket with Suryakumar, who contributed 75 off 35 balls with the bat.
“We've achieved a lot as a team. I want to have selfless cricketers in my team. We want to be a selfless team. As Hardik said, we want to enjoy each others' performance on the field, off the field, spend as much time as possible and that camaraderie is carrying on the field and we are having some fun,” Suryakumar said at the post-match presentation.
“The chat around the team has been like that, Gauti bhai said the same at the start of the series and when we went to Sri Lanka as well, no one is bigger than the team. If you are on 99 or 49 or anything, if you feel you have to hit a ball out of the park for the team, you have to hit it and the same thing Sanju did and I am really happy for him,” he added.
The Indian captain also emphasized the importance of players needing to be flexible to build more options in the line-up.
“We have to be very flexible. Everyone has to chip in. The way they showed it in this series, it was commendable. (Areas to improve) Just maintain the good habits, continue that on the field and just be the same,” Suryakumar remarked.
After piling up a mammoth total on the board, India restricted Bangladesh to 164/7. Ravi Bishnoi was the stand-out bowler with figures of 3 for 30 in his four overs. Mayank Yadav (2-32) also impressed with two wickets to his name.
