Former India cricketer and coach Rahul Dravid praised the Indian team led by Suryakumar Yadav for winning the T20 World Cup 2026. Team India became the first to win the T20 World Cup thrice, the first team to successfully defend their title, and the first host team to win the title at home.
India had defeated New Zealand in the final of the T20 World Cup in Ahmedabad on March 8 by 96 runs after scoring 255/5 in 20 overs, by restricting the Kiwis to 159 runs.
Dravid remarked that the country's tremendous cricketing potential is finally translating into continuous success, with a string of victories in worldwide events demonstrating the immense skill that has long existed in Indian cricket.
Dravid, who received the Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award at the BCCI annual Naman Awards ceremony, discussed the team's accomplishment.
“It just kind of feels right, right? Almost everything is coming together at this point, when Indian cricket has always had great potential, and it's (about) realizing that potential on the field as well. Off the field, I think we've always had everything we needed, and on the field, it's been great to see that potential being realized," Dravid told Star Sports.
“It's been phenomenal. It's just been amazing to see the way Indian cricket has grown over these three decades. Indian cricket has always had amazing talent. We've always had really good administrators. We've always had really good coaches, and we've been able to back that up with incredible infrastructure. We've always had a fantastic domestic system, a very good junior cricket system.
Some of the most incredible fans in the world. The kind of supporters and fans that we have deserve all of this to come together, to have success on the field. It's amazing to see how all of that is coming together now,” Dravid stated.
Dravid, who guided India to the T20 World Cup in 2024, also praised the current team for handling high expectations and performing on the big stage.
"It was just lovely to see... Just the performance of the world T20 side, the expectations were immense. They started as favorites, and it's not always easy. Yes, of course, they're a very good side, but it's not always easy to start off as favorites and be there right at the end and lift a trophy. It comes with its own pressures, its own challenges. It was just really good to see Surya (Suryakumar Yadav) and Gautam (Gambhir) and the team really do that,” Dravid concluded.
(Star Sports inputs)
