Former India left-arm fast bowler Irfan Pathan praised Suryakumar Yadav’s quick thinking when he took a catch to dismiss David Miller in the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup final. Pathan emphasized that India might have lost the cup had Yadav dropped that catch.
In the game’s final over, Suryakumar made a relay catch at long-off to dismiss Miller, securing India’s seven-run victory over South Africa and breaking a long trophy drought in Barbados. Pathan noted, “A knee-high full toss to a batter like David Miller – more often than not – that’s a six. But Suryakumar Yadav’s presence of mind was exceptional. It wasn’t just a catch; it was the World Cup. The World Cup was in his hands. If he had dropped it, the World Cup would have been dropped as well,” during the “Rise of Champions” episode on JioStar.
India’s squad selection strategy faced criticism from former cricketer Aakash Chopra, who questioned the number of spinners included. He remarked, “There were definitely discussions around that squad, particularly about why so many spinners were picked. It seemed like a slightly flawed strategy. I was one of those who felt something was wrong. It wasn’t aligning with what we thought we were going to do.”
Tom Moody, a former Australian cricketer, noted that the abundance of talent in Indian cricket is both a blessing and a challenge. “One of the issues with Indian cricket is that there is too much talent. There are simply too many options. It’s a wonderful problem to have, but it becomes a nightmare for a selector or a captain.”
Former New Zealand player Danny Morrison expressed concern about the pitch conditions in New York during the Pakistan match, stating, “Playing on that pitch was dangerous in a way. The ball was flying around and it could have gone badly for India, it was a gamble.”
Pathan reflected on wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant’s performance against Pakistan, noting, “Rishabh Pant scored around 40 runs at a strike rate of 135. If you compare that with the other seven batters, none of them had a strike rate of 100. There was a need for someone to take a little more risk and play more fearlessly.”
Eoin Morgan, England’s 2019 World Cup-winning captain, emphasized the importance of bowling in winning tournaments. “In white-ball cricket, bowling attacks win you tournaments. When you can defend low scores, it creates a belief within the team that you can win a game from anywhere. That belief becomes a big threat for any team in a World Cup,” he explained.
On captain Rohit Sharma’s aggressive innings against Australia in the Super Eight clash, Chopra observed, “Rohit Sharma had sworn that we are going to play a different brand of cricket which is going to be more aggressive. Now that we have beaten Australia, there’s no tension. We can actually win the trophy, irrespective of who the opposition is. But the wounds of 2023 kept reminding us not to take anything lightly.”
Morgan added his insights, stating, “From an Indian point of view, the template they created leading into that game was easy to replicate because they were confident. They had trust in exactly what they were trying to do.”