Team India's middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav has opened up on their 2023 World Cup final loss to Australia on November 19th at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The right-handed batter admitted disappointment on their part, but felt that PM Narendra Modi's words of motivation in the dressing room lifted them massively.
Team India headed into the final of the showpiece event as overwhelming favourites against Australia, but could not break their decade-long title drought, contrary to expectations. The Men in Blue struggled across facets as Australia put up a disciplined performance to seal their 6th title in front of a record crowd.
Speaking in a video uploaded by the BCCI, the Mumbai-born cricketer feels sport teaches to move on and get back up after defeats.
"As you all now, it has been just 4-5 days since the World Cup ended. Everyone is disappointed, we are disappointed. But it was nice to see the support from our fans in India and all over the world. I would just like to say that this is a sport, it teaches us a lot, how to move ahead and I would like to say that always maintain the same love that you guys have for us."
"He met and gave motivation to everyone" - Suryakumar Yadav on interacting with Narendra Modi
The 33-year-old spoke about their interaction with PM Modi, stating the below:
"The Prime Minister of our country Narendra Modi ji came to the dressing room. He met and gave motivation to everyone and while meeting everyone, he said only one thing, 'It's a sport, we keep winning and losing. There are ups and downs in life, you have to take it in your stride. Yes, of course, it will take some time to come out of this."
Suryakumar added that they have already started preparing the 2024 T20 World Cup and hopes that it pays fruit.
"It was a big thing for PM Modi to come to the dressing room and his 5-6 minutes of motivation was a big thing. The leader of the country is meeting the sports team in the dressing room and giving motivation. We listened to his words carefully and spent a little time with him. An ICC tournament is coming next year. We will play with the same enthusiasm the way we played this time and hopefully, we win."
The Men in Blue won the inaugural T20 World Cup and will hope to capture their 2nd in the West Indies and USA next year.
