‘Can't cheat the man in mirror’ - Suryakumar Yadav gives life lesson after leading India to T20 World Cup victory

Following his side’s victory and him becoming a World Cup winning captain for India alongside Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni, and Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav opened up on what it means for him to achieve this success. India lifted the T20 World Cup 2026 with a thumping win over New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on March 8. 

It has been a roller coaster ride for the Mumbai batter for the last year or so. He had a horrid year with the bat in the year 2025, as he went 20 innings without scoring a fifty for the Indian team. And here he was, leading his side to a World Cup victory in front of a home crowd.

Acknowledging the struggles, Suryakumar opened up on how he is feeling after his side’s historic achievement, and what it means to succeed after experiencing failures.

“It's really important to understand that you'll definitely fail more times than you succeed in sports. I mean, he must have seen it in his career. I have seen it last year, 2025. Whole year, I couldn't get a 50. It took me 400 plus days to get a 50 for India. But that's what I told the boys, the same thing. Ups and downs will definitely keep on coming in sport,” he said.

For the Indian captain, success comes from what one does when down and out. 

“You have to understand, you have to respect the game. You have to try and spend time with all good people around you. That's more important. Be true to yourself. You can't cheat the man in the mirror when you get up in the morning or you're going to sleep,” he added.

He further gave away some valuable tips to the youngsters, who dream to represent India one day, just like him.

“Yes, the jersey colour changes, brings in a lot of emotion, the dry colour, but at the same time, what has given them success, they shouldn't be running away from it,” he concluded.