’We want to be a selfless team’, says Suryakumar Yadav after complete T20I series sweep

India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav stressed that it was important to build a “selfless” team after the Men in Blue thumped Bangladesh by 133 runs in the third and final T20I in Hyderabad on Saturday. Their win on Saturday helped India complete a 3-0 series sweep against the Tigers.

“We’ve achieved a lot as a team. I want to have selfless cricketers in my team. We want to be a selfless team. As Hardik said, we want to enjoy each others’ performance on the field, off the field, spend as much time as possible and that camaraderie is carrying on the field and we are having some fun,” Suryakumar Yadav said at the post-match presentation.

Suryakumar was pleased with the way how Sanju Samson approached the game. Samson scored a 40-ball century to propel India to a record total of 297/6 after batting first. “The chat around the team has been like that, Gauti bhai said the same at the start of the series and when we went to Sri Lanka as well, no one is bigger than the team. If you are on 99 or 49 or anything, if you feel you have to hit a ball out of the park for the team, you have to hit it and the same thing Sanju did and I am happy for him,” added SKY.

Suryakumar Yadav said that flexibility is important for India as a team. “We have to be very flexible. Everyone has to chip in. The way they showed it in this series, it was commendable,” he commented. When asked as to where India can improve as a team, Suryakumar said: “Just maintain the good habits, continue that on the field and just be the same.”

Sanju Samson, the Player of the Match, was overwhelmed with his performance against Bangladesh. Samson scored 111 runs from 47 balls, hitting 11 fours and eight sixes. “The dressing room energy and the boys have lots of happiness for me. I am very happy. They are happy that I did well. It can get frustrating knowing what you can do out there and the way I have been batting, I thought that could have done much better. Those thoughts keep coming into your head. With a lot of experience and so many games I have played, I know how to deal with the pressure and failures. I have failed a lot, so I know how to manage my mind accordingly,” said the Kerala cricketer.

“I keep telling myself I just need to focus on the process, keep doing my training, keep believing in myself and one day it’ll come soon. Playing for the country, you come in with a lot of pressure. That pressure was there, I wanted to perform and I wanted to show what I am capable of,” he added.

Hardik Pandya, who won the Player of the Series award, credited skipper Suryakumar and coach Gautam Gambhir for giving Team India the freedom to go out and perform. Pandya took one wicket and scored 118 runs from three matches.

“The kind of freedom the skipper and the coach has given has been fantastic to the whole group. That is coming to all the players who are playing. At the end of the day, if you can enjoy this sport, that’s the best way to get the most out of yourself. When the dressing room is enjoying, when everyone’s enjoying everyone’s success, you feel like doing more. I think that has contributed a lot,” he said.

Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto was disappointed with his team’s performance in the series. “We didn’t play our best cricket. We didn’t execute our plans as a batting group in all three matches. Bowling-wise, in a couple of overs we bowled well in some of the matches. Today all the bowlers didn’t bowl well. We must believe in ourselves that we can compete against any team. We have to change a lot of things, especially the home wicket. Players need to take responsibility,” he said.

Among the positives, Shanto hailed the way Towhid Hridoy played on Saturday. Hridoy scored 63 runs off 42 balls on a day when a majority of Bangladesh batters failed to turn up. “The way Hridoy batted today was impressive. I like all the seamers, they tried to execute their plans. The top-order batsmen need to improve a lot,” he stated.