India’s Hardik Pandya, centre, captain Suryakumar Yadav, left, and Ishan Kishan pose with the trophy. (AP photo) NEW DELHI: Fresh from leading India to a historic T20 World Cup triumph at home, captain Suryakumar Yadav has already set his sights on the next major milestone – Olympic gold at the 2028 Summer Olympics.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!India produced a dominant performance to beat New Zealand by 96 runs in the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday to become the first team to successfully defend the World T20 title and the first team to win the trophy three times. The win also marked the first time the team lifted the T20 crown on home soil.
T20 World Cup: Gautam Gambhir, Suryakumar Yadav after Team India’s win
At a celebratory midnight press conference, Suryakumar described the achievement as a defining moment for the team, but insisted that the focus was already shifting to future challenges.“It was very special,” he said as celebrations continued around the country. “And definitely the next goal is the Olympics, the Olympic gold and also the T20 World Cup that year.Cricket will return to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics – the first time since 1900 that the sport has appeared at the Olympics – opening a new chapter in international cricket.India’s recent dominance in the shortest format has been built on a fearless attacking style that began to take shape during the 2024 T20 World Cup triumph under then-captain Rohit Sharma.“I think the drought ended in 2024 after a really long time and we never looked back from there,” said Suryakumar, referring to India’s major post-Champions Trophy drought in 2013.“We played a different brand of cricket in 2024 and from there we understood how this team needed to work forward. And it’s been an amazing journey since then.”Following the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from T20 internationals after the 2024 World Cup, Suryakumar took charge of the side and oversaw a new era of aggressive cricket.“We wanted to perform something special in front of the home crowd,” he said. “We want to keep it going… and never stop.
