Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav said his squad stands with the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and dedicated the team’s crushing seven-wicket Asia Cup victory against Pakistan to the nation’s military on Sunday.
In their first meeting on a cricket ground since the heinous attack and subsequent ‘Operation Sindoor’ by India on terror infrastructure across the border in May, Suryakumar made the comments following his team’s second straight victory in the tournament, this time against the perennial rivals.
“I think it’s a perfect occasion and taking the time out, we stand by with the victims of the families of Pahalgam terror attack and we express our solidarity,” Suryakumar told the broadcaster after the match in Dubai.
“Also the most important thing for me, we want to dedicate today’s win to all our armed forces who showed a lot of bravery and hope they continue to inspire us all and we give them more reasons on the ground, whenever we get an opportunity to make them smile,” he added.
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Following the game, as is customary when teams wrap up a competition, the Indian team members did not shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts.
During the coin toss, Suryakumar and Salman Agha of Pakistan did not shake hands either. Instead, they gave their team sheets to match referee Andy Pycroft of Zimbabwe and talked to broadcaster and former India player Ravi Shastri.
Their head coach, Mike Hesson, later told the media that Agha’s absence was a “cause and effect after what happened” following the game. Agha did not attend the presentation ceremony.
Suryakumar, who turned 35 on Sunday as well, said the victory was a “return gift” to the nation because India easily defeated Pakistan.
With seven wickets and thirty-five balls remaining, India crossed the finish line after chasing 128.
“I feel it’s a great feeling and it’s a perfect return gift to India,” said Suryakumar after a few fans sang for him before he spoke with the broadcaster.
When asked if it was something that he had planned from before, Suryakumar said, “No, it actually keeps running in your mind when you think about it because it’s a human tendency when you’re coming here playing a game like this. You definitely want to win it and when you win it, you always have something ready.”
Suryakumar went on to say that he was happy with his six off Sufiyan Muqeem to end the match for India.
“This is one box which I always wanted to tick, (that to) stay there till the end and it was the need of the hour today and (I) loved to stay not out till the end,” he said.
The India captain responded that he is only carrying on the team’s tone, which was established by their Champions Trophy victory in Dubai in February, when asked about the use of spinners early on.
“That’s what happened a few months back, our team which won the Champions Trophy, they set the tone. I am always a fan of spinners because they control the game in the middle and post powerplay, I think all the spinners, they were amazing,” he said.
Kuldeep Yadav, who was named Player of the Match after returning with figures of 4-0-18-3, stated that he had no particular strategy for the Pakistani batters.
“You just have to think (as per) who’s batting on the crease and react to what they’re doing and what their strength is. I had my plans and I just executed them,” he said.
Kuldeep stated that he still has a lot of work to do to improve his bowling.
“I need to really work on my bowling. Sometimes I feel that I try too many variations, but I have to learn day by day and game by game. I think there’s a lot of room for improvement,” he said.
