‘Team India targets T20 WC hattrick, Olympic gold’: Suryakumar Yadav

NEW DELHI: Indian men’s T20I team captain Suryakumar Yadav expressed his desire to win the 2028 T20 World Cup and make it three back-to-back T20 WCs, and also clinch the gold medal in the 2028 LA Olympics.

Speaking at the BCCI Naman Awards, the 2026 T20 World Cup-winning captain said India will aim to win a third consecutive T20 World Cup and also target a gold medal at the 2028 Olympics, calling cricket’s inclusion in the Olympic Games a “great thing”.

“Yeah, I mean it’s a great thing that the big event is happening, and cricket is getting an entry into that. Of course, it will be a special thing. There are two events in that year (2028). There’s a T20 World Cup as well, Olympics as well. So why not? If you have done two in a row, why not three in a row in T20Is and definitely the Olympic gold”, Suryakuymar Yadav said in a video posted by the BCCI on X.

𝗜𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗹𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲.

Captain Surya Kumar Yadav on #TeamIndia‘s brilliant run in ICC events across formats and his goals for the future … pic.twitter.com/8vvuI7YSgZ

— BCCI (@BCCI) March 15, 2026

Responding to a question about India’s dominance in white-ball cricket, Suryakumar Yadav said the breakthrough came with India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 win, which, according to him, gave the team the “taste” of winning an ICC trophy.

He added that subsequent titles, including the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025, and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, have strengthened that momentum, and India now aims to keep winning as many ICC trophies as possible.

“I think we just needed that one spark or one step, which we actually crossed in 2024 and post that 2025 Champions Trophy, then women’s team winning that ODI World Cup back in 2025 and then 2026 (men’s T20 WC win). I think that one step was important, that taste was important for everyone to understand what it takes to win an ICC trophy. But now, there’s no looking back. If this wonderful thing has started, let’s try and collect as many as possible,” Suryakumar Yadav said further. (ANI)