"Sanju Samson Played for the Team, Not Milestones" - Coach and Captain speaks after IND vs NZ Final

Описание: press conference with Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir:

​Question 1: On the meaning of the journey

​Question: "Suryakumar, a big celebration between what is the plan ahead and just how are you soaking it all in as a captain, as a leader... just your entire journey this World Cup win, what does it mean to you?"

​Suryakumar Yadav: "Firstly, Happy Women’s Day to you. And obviously very happy, but it’ll take a little bit of time to sink in. We’ve just come out of a game... it was a good game obviously playing at home. Definitely when we wake up tomorrow and go back home... it will be a special feeling. But yeah, very excited—whatever happened in the last two years post-2024 T20 World Cup until today, I think it was unbelievable. The feeling currently, I don’t know how do I share it, but it has been a wonderful journey."

​Question 2: On being the first coach to win two ICC trophies

​Question: "Coach, as a coach, you've become the first coach to win two ICC trophies, and won the Asia Cup, and this time you got the trophy too. What would you say?"

​Gautam Gambhir: "Look, first of all, the players made me win. I’ve been saying for a long time that you are only as good a coach or captain as your players. So, I think credit needs to go to the players, the way and the professionalism, and most importantly, the bravery with which this tournament was played... We wanted to change that [playing style in ICC tournaments] and I’m sure everyone has seen that—if you score over 250 in the semi-final and final, that just shows the quality and bravery/courage with which this tournament was played."

​Question 3: On handling players and social media doubters

​Question: "Coach, a question for you first. There were many doubters on social media who talk a lot when the team doesn't do well. But your effort behind the scenes with the players... how do you handle players? How different was this challenge as a Head Coach compared to IPL mentorship?"

​Gautam Gambhir: "First of all, my accountability is not toward social media. My accountability is most of all toward those 30 people sitting in that dressing room... if I can work with them honestly... other than that, my accountability never was, is, or will be. Whether I win two ICC trophies as a coach, it really doesn’t matter. Those 30 people matter most to me in my coaching tenure."

​Question 4: On their working partnership

​Question: "Congratulations to the two of you. Just wanted to ask how it was for the two of you to work together... since you came together in 2024... Gauti bhai, there were a lot of selection calls which were debated... but you seemed to have a plan figured out... and Surya, same for you, working with the coach after spending time in the IPL?"

​Suryakumar Yadav: "I think I’ve played cricket under Gauti bhai for four years, so I already knew what the expectations would be from both of us... So many times when we talked about the team—the playing XI or 15—14 of our players were always the same. If the success rate is that high, we didn't need to discuss much because we were always on the same page... I don't remember any time we had an argument over a player... because our goal was always how the team can achieve something great together."

​Gautam Gambhir: "I’ve said it before, I think Surya has made my life a lot easier in this format. I think he’s a phenomenal leader... He wants to be called a leader because a leader is a far bigger father figure in a dressing room than a captain. My simple philosophy with Surya has always been that milestones don't matter, it's the trophies that matter. For too long in Indian cricket, we've spoken about milestones. I hope till I'm there, we are not going to talk about milestones... Stop celebrating milestones, celebrate trophies."

​Question 5: Message to the fans

​Question: "Surya, what is your message to the 130,000 people and the billions who rooted for you, and the role each player played for you?"

​Suryakumar Yadav: "Obviously, I just want to say thank you for keeping us—all the players and support staff—in their prayers. Everyone wanted to win this World Cup. No team has done this before at home, so I'm sure it will be a special feeling for all Indians in India and all over the world... I just want to say thank you."
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