India's T20 skipper Suryakumar Yadav heaped praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying his leadership from the front enables cricketers to play more freely.
Yadav’s remarks came a day after India secured an emphatic five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 final on Sunday.
Moments after India secured the win, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to X and wrote, “Operation Sindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same - India wins! Congrats to our cricketers.”
Operation Sindoor – initiated on May 7 – was India’s response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed lives of 26 innocent civilians. During the operation, India targeted terror camps in neighbouring Pakistan and engaged in a conflict with its military.
What Suryakumar Yadav said on PM Modi’s leadership?
Responding to a question over PM Modi’s tweet post India’s win, Suryakumar Yadav praised PM Modi for ‘batting on the front foot’.
“It feels good when the country’s leader himself bats on the front foot; it felt like he took the strike and scored runs," Suryakumar told news agency ANI.
“…When Sir (PM) is standing in front, then the players will automatically play freely… The most important thing is that the whole country is celebrating. When we go back (to India), it will feel even better, and we will get more inspiration and motivation to do well," he added.
India vs Pak Asia Cup final
India won the Asia Cup for the ninth time on Sunday, defeating Pakistan by five wickets in a high-intensity final match played in Dubai.
India's ball-tweaking troika, Axar Patel (2-26), Varun Chakravarthy (2-30) and Kuldeep Yadav (4-30), wreaked havoc on Dubai's slow-paced strip against Pakistan in the final and combined to scalp eight wickets to wrap up the Men in Green's innings on 146.
India eventually gunned down the target, courtesy of Tilak Varma's unbeaten 69 and contributions from Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube to revel in a five-wicket win.
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