Suryakumar Yadav of India during an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup India & Sri Lanka 2026 of India net session at Narendra Modi Stadium on March 07, 2026 in Ahmedabad, India. (Photo by Prakash Singh/Getty Images)
TimesofIndia.com in Ahmedabad: In any final, the outcome mostly depends on how a team handles pressure. The heart rate operates above normal ranges, and even the best in the business feel the heat of the occasion. Add to this the subtext of playing at a venue carrying the ghosts of a World Cup past. Close to 1,00,000 people in the stands, painting the venue blue, make the situation and occasion anything but easy.‘Pressure’ was the oft-repeated word when India captain Suryakumar Yadav addressed the media on the eve of the T20 World Cup final. Surya was part of the XI that suffered heartbreak at the hands of Australia on 19 November, 2023 in the ODI World Cup final. He, like most of his teammates, would have felt the eerie silence of the crowd when Pat Cummins & Co. stunned the hosts in the title clash.
Silence and crowd noise were back in discussion ahead of Sunday’s final but Surya chose to downplay the chatter. He acknowledged the challenges, pressure and excitement a final brings, and his message to the team was simple: be courageous.“We’ve been preparing for this stage really well. It started two years back and its journey and the circle has come to the same stadium again where we left in 2023. Hopefully play some good cricket, be courageous in tough situations. That’s a simple message to the team,” said Surya.Easier said than done. While the group has discussed embracing pressure rather than just dealing with it, only the tough cookies stand the test of occasions like these. Over the last few months, Surya observed that giving the group a freehand has worked wonders rather than restricting them with excessive communication. The captain is aware that every individual needs a different approach but the success rate has been really high whenever “they have been let free”.As a captain, and carrying forgettable memories of ‘the November past’, the stakes are probably higher for Surya but he is looking at the brighter side. The pressure and nervousness are present, but so are the excitement and the special feeling of playing, and leading the team, in a final at home.“These guys don’t let me talk much in the dressing room – at all. These guys dictate their terms. So I have seen that when they get the freedom, they become a different character on the ground. I was noticing that when I started leading this team since 5-6 months. After that I understood that nothing will happen by being a big brother or a father. They have to be left alone. Nothing will happen by holding on to their ears. They have to be left free, only then they can give their best. “As a leader, definitely there will be pressure on me. I am not saying that there will be no pressure, and I will not be nervous, because if I am not under pressure and if I will not be nervous, then how will I get the best out of myself and obviously the team. So definitely there will be an added pressure, but at the same time there is a lot of excitement because you don’t get a chance like this to play in a World Cup final, and that too in India. That is a special feeling,” said Surya.For Surya – the player and Surya – the captain, this is his biggest moment under the sun. The numerous IPL finals, titles and bilateral wins and even the Asia Cup don’t matter. What matters is how the team fares on the big night in Ahmedabad. When he steps out chewing his gum at the Narendra Modi Stadium, it will all boil down to dealing with the P word and how he can maintain clear decision-making while taking the tough calls in the middle, both while batting and during captaincy.
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He has coach Gautam Gambhir in his corner, who as per the captain could well pad up and bat, and together the duo have a chance to create history. The only team to defend a T20 World Cup title and win a T20 World Cup at home is just one win away and that win would also secure coach Gambhir’s second ICC title in as many attempts. Too many critical firsts are separated by that big win. The win would put Ahmedabad on the cricketing map with a memorable event favouring the hosts, somewhat diminishing the ghosts of the November 19 past.“Ho jaaega? (will it happen?),” Surya had asked Rohit at Wankhede before the semi-final. The former captain gave an assuring response.“If we play well, then it will happen,” Surya said on Saturday with a smile carrying the confidence from his former captain’s words and the entire campaign.
