"Our Games Were So Intense": Suryakumar Yadav's Hilarious Revelation On Trying To Make Gautam Gambhir Laugh
India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav revealed that the team had made many efforts to make Gautam Gambhir laugh during the T20 World Cup.
- Suryakumar Yadav revealed the Indian team's efforts to make Gautam Gambhir laugh during the T20 World Cup
- We tried many times during the World Cup to make him laugh, but our games were so intense," Suryakumar said
- "After winning the final, when we saw that smile on his face, everyone was very happy," he added
Gautam Gambhir's intense approach to cricket, be it as a captain or as a coach, is well known. India's T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav joked that him and the rest of the team had tried to make Gambhir laugh multiple times during the T20 World Cup 2026, but the tight nature of India's matches had meant that he couldn't afford a smile. Both Gambhir and Suryakumar could ultimately smile in the elation of victory, as India became the first team to win the T20 World Cup three times, and the first team to lift the trophy back-to-back.
"We tried many times during the World Cup to make him laugh, but our games were so intense from the beginning until the final. However, after winning the final, when we saw that smile on his face, everyone was very happy," Suryakumar told PTI.
Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav, expressed his desire to win the T20 World Cup in 2028 and make it three in a row, and also clinch the gold medal in the 2028 LA Olympics.
Speaking at the BCCI Naman Awards, the 2026 T20 World Cup-winning captain said India will aim to win a third consecutive T20 World Cup and also target a gold medal at the 2028 Olympics, calling cricket's inclusion in the Olympic Games a "great thing".
"Yeah, I mean it's a great thing that the big event is happening, and cricket is getting an entry into that. Of course, it will be a special thing. There are two events in that year (2028). There's a T20 World Cup as well, Olympics as well. So why not? If you have done two in a row, why not three in a row in T20Is and definitely the Olympic gold," Suryakuymar Yadav said in a video posted by the BCCI on X.
Responding to a question about India's dominance in white-ball cricket, Suryakumar Yadav said the breakthrough came with India's T20 World Cup 2024 win, which, according to him, gave the team the "taste" of winning an ICC trophy.
He added that subsequent titles, including the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025, and the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, have strengthened that momentum, and India now aims to keep winning as many ICC trophies as possible.
"I think we just needed that one spark or one step, which we actually crossed in 2024 and post that 2025 Champions Trophy, then women's team winning that ODI World Cup back in 2025 and then 2026. I think that one step was important, that taste was important for everyone to understand what it takes to win an ICC trophy. But now, there's no looking back. If this wonderful thing has started, let's try and collect as many as possible," Suryakumar Yadav said further.
With agency inputs
Gautam Gambhir
India Cricket Team