India skipper Suryakumar Yadav said that it felt like PM Modi himself took the strike and scored runs. Team India skipper Suryakumar Yadav on Monday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Operation Sindoor’ post on the Asia Cup victory and said it feels good that the nation’s leader himself “bats on the front foot”.
India defeated arch-rival Pakistan by five wickets in the Asia Cup final at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. PM Modi had compared the team’s win to Operation Sindoor. In a post on X, he said, “#OperationSindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same – India wins! Congrats to our cricketers.” Suryakumar reacted to PM Modi’s post and said, “It feels good when the country’s leader himself bats on the front foot; it felt like he took the strike and scored runs. It was great to see, and when the sir is standing in front, then definitely the players will play freely.”
Noting that the entire nation is celebrating the victory, Suryakumar said that the team will feel even more inspired when it goes back home, to India. “The most important thing is that the whole country is celebrating. When we go back (to India), it will feel good, and we will get more inspiration and motivation to do well,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Suryakumar Yadav announced that he would donate his fees from the tournament to support the Indian Armed Forces and the families of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack. Throughout the tournament, India maintained its stance on the matter and refused traditional handshakes with the Pakistani opponents. At the final on Sunday, the team did not accept and take the Asia Cup trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi.Naqvi had earlier complained to the International Cricket Council over team India’s behaviour, a development which came after the handshake snub.
Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the interior minister of Pakistan, had also posted objectionable posts against India, with reference to Operation Sindoor and the four-day conflict. His posts did not sit well with the Indian team, as a result of which, the players refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi. Suryakumar Yadav even posted an image of holding the trophy with teammate Tilak Varma, except, the trophy was an emoji. “When the game is done, only the champions will be remembered and not the picture of a (emoji of trophy),” he captioned the image on X.
