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<\/p>\nIndian captain Suryakumar Yadav (L) thanked PM Modi for his support.<\/p>\n
(PC: X)<\/p>\n
Indian men\u2019s cricket captain Suryakumar Yadav on Monday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for \u2018batting on the front foot\u2019 against Pakistan, saying that his leadership boosted the cricketers\u2019 confidence and made them play more \u2018freely\u2019. He was speaking a day after his team secured a five-wicket win over Pakistan in the final of the 2025 Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.<\/p>\n
Only minutes after India completed the win with Rinku Singh hitting the winning boundary in the last over, PM Modi took to social media to call it \u2018Operation Sindoor on the game\u2019s field\u2019. He related the cricket triumph to the country\u2019s army operation in May, where they tactically struck down terror infrastructure in Pakistan in retaliation for the Pahlgam attack in Kashmir, where gunmen brutally killed 26 Indians.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels good when the country\u2019s leader himself bats on the front foot; it felt like he took the strike and scored runs,” Suryakumar told news agency ANI. \u201cIt was great to see, and when Sir is standing in front, then the players will automatically play freely\u2026 The most important thing is that the whole country is celebrating. When we go back (to India), it will feel even better, and we will get more inspiration and motivation to do well,” he added.<\/p>\n
Also read: Tilak Varma Reshares PM Modi\u2019s Message, Schools Pakistan: \u2018Talking Is Easy, Winning Takes\u2026\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Earlier, just past midnight after the match, Suryakumar dedicated his match fees to the Indian armed forces. India beat Pakistan three times in the tournament and dedicated the group-stage one to the army and the victims of the Pahalgam attack, too.<\/p>\n \u2018The real trophy is people\u2019s hearts\u2019: Suryakumar Yadav<\/p>\n The Men in Blue didn\u2019t lose any other games in the tournament either. But they didn\u2019t get to celebrate with the trophy. India refused to accept the silverware from Asian Cricket Council chairman and Pakistan\u2019s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi, who then retaliated by taking the trophy with him.<\/p>\n Suryakumar, though, was the least bothered by it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a very good feeling. When you win a tournament unbeaten, you feel very good. It was a very good feeling for the entire team, for the entire country, and it was a lot of fun. We came and sat together last night, took some time out, and we had a lot of fun. I won\u2019t call it a controversy. You must have seen the photos that everyone has put up; a trophy was there. But the real trophy is people\u2019s hearts, the players\u2019 trust, the support staff\u2019s trust, and the trust of the people behind the scenes. That\u2019s the real trophy. This was a silverware, that\u2019s fine, but the people who work hard on the ground are the real trophies,” he added.<\/p>\n First Published:<\/p>\n September 29, 2025, 15:54 IST<\/p>\n News<\/a> cricket<\/a> Suryakumar Yadav Praises PM Modi After Asia Cup Win: \u2018When Country\u2019s Leader Bats On Front Foot\u2026\u2019Disclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use<\/a> and Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last Updated:September 29, 2025, 16:45 IST Suryakumar Yadav hailed PM Modi for \u2018batting on the front foot\u2019 after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169825,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[74896,1721,71279,12935,23340,44981,44995,76548,101,38346,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-169824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-asia-cup-2025-final","tag-cricket","tag-india-vs-pakistan-cricket-match","tag-indian-cricket-team","tag-operation-sindoor","tag-pahalgam-attack","tag-prime-minister-narendra-modi","tag-rinku-singh","tag-sports","tag-suryakumar-yadav","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169824"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169824\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}