NEW DELHI: India captain Suryakumar Yadav has offered a fascinating insight into what set apart the country’s back-to-back T20 World Cup-winning squads, describing the 2024 side as driven by “experienced enthusiasm” and the 2026 unit as fuelled by the “fiery passion of youth. ”
Suryakumar explained that while both teams were equally skilled, the difference lay in their mindset. “There was just an ‘unnis bees ka farak’. Woh experience wala josh tha, idhar ekdum khoon garam tha ladkon ka,” he said in a PTI interview, highlighting how the earlier team leaned on experience, while the latest group thrived on youthful intensity.
The 2024 triumph, achieved under Rohit Sharma, featured stalwarts like Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, whose experience helped India end a long ICC title drought.
In contrast, the 2026 squad saw a younger core step up after the senior trio’s retirement from the format.
“In 2024, we had a lot of experience and clearly defined roles. There are good players now as well, but that team had immense experience,” Suryakumar noted, downplaying any direct comparison in terms of superiority between the two sides.
Leading a relatively young group in 2026 also meant managing expectations, especially with the tournament being held at home.
Suryakumar revealed he had to prepare his players mentally for the magnitude of the occasion.
“All the guys are 25 to 27 years old. It was important to tell them what it feels like to win a World Cup in India, with 50,000 or even a lakh people cheering,” he said.
Despite the relative inexperience, the captain felt the team’s hunger made the difference. “Skill-wise, there’s only a slight difference in T20 cricket, but this time there was more enthusiasm,” he added.
Reflecting on his own journey from a key player in 2024 to captain in 2026, Suryakumar admitted the emotions were heightened. “The goal was the same, but the emotion in 2026 was more because we were playing in India. Winning it in Ahmedabad made it even more special,” he said.
