“Unka bas chale, toh wo he pad pehen ke aa jaye” - Suryakumar Yadav terms Gautam Gambhir ‘team man’

Team India captain Suryakumar Yadav has lauded the Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup final against New Zealand in Ahmedabad, calling him a ‘team man’ and for instilling a ‘team first’ philosophy within the team.

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Speaking at the pre-match press conference against New Zealand, Suryakumar pointed out how the former Indian opener focuses on getting the best from every player, removing the concept of personal milestones.

"Unka (Gambhir) bas chale, toh wo he pad pehen ke aa jaye (If he gets his way, then he would himself come out to bat). He has played in World Cups before and helped the team win. His mantra has always been to take contributions from every player. Cricket is one sport where one or two players cannot help you win the trophy. In every game, all of our players contributed. In the semi-final, that was the case. In a team sport, every batter needs to click for a complete performance," Suryakumar told reporters.

"He has removed the concept of personal milestones. It's a team game, for example, Tilak scored 21 runs in 7 balls, it's almost similar to someone getting a fifty or a century. Both things are equally important to us. These are the things he focuses on. Whatever is important to the team, we do. These things spread positivity within the camp; if you leave yourself aside, then the team benefits because there is a common goal," he added.

Notably, India has won every match except for the South Africa Super8 clash. Later, they bagged wins in the must-win games against Zimbabwe and West Indies, and then beat England in a high-scoring thriller in the semi-final to advance to the final. 

On the other hand, New Zealand made it to the semi-final despite losing to South Africa in the first round and to England in the Super Eight. However, they defeated the unbeaten South Africa in the semi-final to make it to the grand finale.

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