India captain Suryakumar Yadav on Monday expressed his appreciation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s post celebrating India’s Asia Cup victory, calling it inspiring for the team.
India defeated arch-rival Pakistan by five wickets in the final at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
PM Modi had shared a post on X referring to the win as "#OperationSindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same - India wins! Congrats to our cricketers."
Reacting to the post, Suryakumar told ANI, "It feels good when the country's leader himself bats on the front foot; it felt like he took the strike and scored runs.”
“It was great to see, and when sir is standing in front, then definitely the players will play freely." He added that the nationwide celebrations will further inspire the team when they return home.
"The most important thing is that the whole country is celebrating. When we go back to India, it will feel good, and we will get more inspiration and motivation to do well," Suryakumar said.
Earlier on Monday, Suryakumar announced that he would donate his fees from the tournament to support the Indian Armed Forces and the families of victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.
Throughout the Asia Cup, India maintained a firm stance on not engaging in traditional handshakes with Pakistani players.
During the final, the Indian team also refused to accept the trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
Naqvi had raised a complaint with the International Cricket Council over India’s conduct following previous handshake snubs.
He had also posted objectionable comments referencing Operation Sindoor and the recent four-day conflict, which drew disapproval from the Indian team.
Suryakumar further shared a post on X, featuring an image of himself and teammate Tilak Varma holding a trophy emoji. He captioned it, “When the game is done, only the champions will be remembered and not the picture of a (emoji of trophy).”