T20 World Cup: Suryakumar on home pressure, USA game as 'wake-up call'

India's T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav acknowledged home pressure for the T20 World Cup 2026 but said the team stays simple. He cited the USA game as a "wake-up call" and opined that the toss is "overrated" ahead of the Super 8.

India's men's T20I team captain Suryakumar Yadav acknowledged the pressure of playing a major tournament at home ahead of their Super 8 clash of the T20 World Cup 2026 against South Africa, especially with constant public expectations and the shared goal of winning the World Cup. Speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of the India vs South Africa Super 8 clash at Ahmedabad, Suryakumar Yadav acknowledged that while pressure is natural, each player has their own way of handling it. He said that the team is focused on staying present and keeping things simple, taking lessons from challenging moments -- like the "wake-up call" they received during the league stage against USA. Notably, in their first group-stage match of the T20 WC 2026, Team India faced a stiff challenge against USA, where the Men in Blue once found themselves 118/7 in 16.4 overs. However, India eventually won the match by 29 runs.

'There is pressure, there will be pressure'

"Very difficult to say that there is no pressure or it is easy to handle. But yeah, when you are playing such a big event at your home soil, you definitely feel pressure. It is not that you can run away from it because you meet so many people in the hotel when you are travelling. The same goal to win the World Cup, we have to do well. So, yes, of course, there is pressure. But yeah, at the same time, every individual has a different plan to deal with it. How do you want to take it forward, that is in your hands. But we are trying our best to keep it simple. It is easy to say that we have to keep it simple. But we are trying our best to be in present, try to keep our feet where we are. Like for example, when we were playing the league stage, we got a good wake-up call when we played against US," Suryakumar Yadav said. "So, since then, we have not been thinking about too much like how we start our Super 8 campaign from tomorrow. Think about tomorrow, then take one step at a time. But yeah, of course, there is pressure, there will be pressure. If there is no pressure, there won't be any fun in playing this game," he said further

'Toss is a little bit overrated'

Suryakumar also opined on how he thinks the toss is slightly overrated, noting that in the T20 WC 2026, many teams have won the toss and chosen to bat first across venues. Despite losing three out of four tosses and batting first each time, he believes that if a team puts up a strong total, it can still defend it -- even with dew -- provided there is confidence in the bowling unit "What I feel is toss is a little bit overrated now. If you see this tournament also, a lot of teams are winning the toss and also batting first in different venues. We got to bat first in all four games. I think I lost three tosses from four. So, if you bat well in the first innings, even if there is dew, you still have an opportunity to go out and defend if you have confidence in your bowling unit. I don't think toss will matter a lot. But still, we will see tomorrow what we want to do," the Indian captain said.

Unbeaten Teams Clash in Super 8

Notably, India entered the Super 8 stage unbeaten as they defeated Pakistan, Netherlands, USA and Namibia in the league stage. South Africa, on the other hand, also arrived with a perfect record, having won all four of their group-stage matches. (ANI)

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