Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa got emotional along with Ravichandran Ashwin after Rohit Sharma's team lifted the T20 World Cup 2024 in Barbados on Saturday night. India defeated South Africa by 7 runs in a thrilling final to clinch their second T20 WC title and end the country's ICC trophy drought after 11 years.
Almost all of the Indian players burst into tears after the win as their wait finally came to end with the perfect result. The Men in Blue became the first-ever T20 champion team which went undefeated throughout their campaign.
Fans took to the streets of India to celebrate the victory into the wee hours of the night while Uthappa joined off-spinner Ashwin on the latter's YouTube channel where both found it hard to control their tears.
“Unbelievable. I have watched cricket through the years, I have played it, I have won trophies such as the World Cup in 2011 and the Champions Trophy in 2013. But, the way that the players emoted upon winning, what it meant to them all, with Dravid bowing out in 2007 to Rohit and Virat coming so close to winning multiple titles, it was truly a full circle moment without any doubt,” Ashwin said.
Uthappa, who was part of the 2007 Indian team which crashed out of the ODI World Cup in the group stage in the West Indies, nearly choked as he replied to Ashwin.
“Had you talked to me 20 minutes earlier, I would have been in tears. I was so full of emotion, thinking about each individual player and what they had been through. To have put with the criticism, the trolling, to go through the struggles and hardships and hate, is not easy.
"For people to keep continually doubting your ability, you begin to doubt yourself at some point and you being to ask yourself, “Is it possible?” I could feel every person’s emotion so strongly. I cried for each of them after their victory. I thanked God, and I now thank every cricketer who’s played for India. This win was so long in the making,” Uthappa stated.
“Look at Rahul Dravid’s career, as a coach and as a player. Think about how many years he’s played. And in his last game as the coach and possibly his last day of ever being associated with the BCCI, that is the day he finally gets his first trophy.
We saw that 50-year-old man celebrate like a 5-year-old kid. This is the beauty of sport. They all deserved to be world champions,” concluded Uthappa.
