T20 final: I have tried to follow Rohit’s footprint as a leader, says Surya

Come tomorrow (Sunday), the current cycle of T20 Internationals will be drawing to a close with the ICC T20 World Cup final between India and New Zealand. It also marks nearly two years of Suryakumar Yadav’s reign as the T20I captain – raising a chatter about whether the BCCI is looking at a succession plan.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of the final, Surya said he wanted to follow the template of captaincy set by his predecessor Rohit Sharma – under whom he has played both in national colours as well as franchise Mumbai Indians. Asked how challenging it was to step into Rohit’s shoes, Surya said in his characteristic style: ‘’The shoes were mine only, but I wanted to follow his footprint. My priority was to create a happy atmosphere in the team and hope to continue in the same vein for many more years,’’ he said.

Now 35, Surya had been bit of a late entrant in international cricket around 2020 but has thrived for six years at the top flight – during which he had established himself as the Mr 360 of Indian cricket and also occupied the ICC No.1 ranking of a T20 batter for long.

‘’Six years had been a long time and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I am also happy for my family.’’

The question of pressure that comes along with the champions’ tag came up inevitably and Surya tried to play it down in his own way. ‘’It’s a special feeling to lead such a wonderful side on home soil. Yes, there will be pressure and butterflies in the stomach as well as without it, there is no fun,’’ said Surya.

Asked what could be be a safe total as England made a dash for the 250-plus target in the semi-final, the captain said they would have to bat well and would not like to have any pre-determined target in mind.

A major failing of the Indian batters during the tournament was that they had lost as many as 15 wickets to off spinners and when asked whether there would be any discussion on a strategy before taking on the Kiwis, Surya said: ‘’When we made the final by playing consistently at a strike rate of 120, there is no need for any discussion.’’

The dew factor was easily the most talked about subject during the tournament where the toss had proved crucial – the last example being the one which saw Kiwi opener Finn Allen finish the semi-final in 13 overs against the fancied South Africans.

"We have played enough cricket with dew. Yes, it helps while batting but we know how to handle it while bowling as we have played enough cricket under such conditions in internationals as well as franchise cricket,’’ he added.