Ahmedabad, March 8 India's triumphant captain Suryakumar Yadav on Sunday hailed Jasprit Bumrah as a "national treasure", using the most appropriate term for the talismanic pacer after his incredible bowling in the T20 World Cup.
With their 96-run victory over New Zealand in the final match here, Suryakumar's team became the first men's international team to win back-to-back World T20 titles, and also the first to claim the trophy on home soil.
"Bumrah is a once-in-a-generation bowler. I can call him a national treasure. He knows how it needs to be done, he is the best in the business," Suryakumar said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
In the final match, Bumrah ended with impressive figures of 4/15 in four overs, helping India bowl out New Zealand for 159 after the home team batters had put up a strong 255 for five.
"I think it will take a little time, but I am definitely very happy. It has been a long journey. It started after the 2024 World Cup. Jay Shah, Rohit bhai, they all showed faith in me and gave me the opportunity to lead. From there it has been a long journey and coming here and winning," Surya said.
The captain praised his players for rising to the occasion and helping the team achieve unprecedented success.
"We have been playing good cricket in the last two years and we just wanted to continue the good cricketing habits that we had in the 2024 World Cup. The boys responded very well."
On the importance of believing in players, the Mumbai man said, "I think it is really important to understand what they are capable of. And I knew they had the match winners in them. The timing was perfect. Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, they are top players and we knew they would do something special, and they did it in the final."
Sanju Samson (89 off 46 balls) and Abhishek Sharma (52 off 21 balls) added 92 in the Powerplay and 98 for the opening stand, and Ishan Kishan then continued the good work with his explosive half-century.
In front of 86,000 fans, the chase was out of reach as New Zealand were bowled out cheaply.
