‘When Country’s Leader Bats On Front Foot…’: Suryakumar Yadav Hails PM Modi After Asia Cup Win

A day after leading India to a thrilling Asia Cup victory over Pakistan, captain Suryakumar Yadav praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strong leadership, stating that it gives the players confidence to “play freely”. His comments came in response to PM Modi’s tweet celebrating the win, in which he drew a parallel between the cricket triumph and the Indian army’s successful “Operation Sindoor” against terror infrastructure in Pakistan.”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 in Dubai.

“It was great to see, and when Sir is standing in front, then the players will automatically play freely”. Shortly after India’s five-wicket win, PM Modi had posted on X, “#OperationSindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same – India wins! Congrats to our cricketers”.

The Indian captain, who dedicated his match fees to the armed forces, also downplayed the controversy surrounding the post-match presentation, where the team refused to accept the trophy from Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. When asked about the incident, which saw Naqvi leave with the trophy, Suryakumar emphasized that winning the hearts of the people and the trust of the players was the “real trophy”.

“I won’t call it a controversy,” he said. “You must have seen the photos that everyone has put up; a trophy was there. But the real trophy is people’s hearts, the players’ trust… This was a silverware, that’s fine, but the people who work hard on the ground are the real trophies”. Suryakumar added that the whole country was celebrating the win, which saw India beat Pakistan three times in the tournament, and that the team was looking forward to returning home to more inspiration and motivation