T20 World Cup 2026: Olympic gold and the T20 World Cup that year is the target, says Suryakumar Yadav

Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav, after lifting the T20 World Cup 2026 trophy, has set his sights on the Olympic Games and the next edition of the tournament. Immediately after the victory in Ahmedabad, he declared that an Olympic gold medal is now the team’s next target.

Following Rohit Sharma’s retirement after India’s 2024 T20 World Cup triumph in Barbados, there has been speculation about Suryakumar’s future plans this time. His latest announcement suggests that there is a great amount of clarity on how India will shape its preparations over the next two years.

“The next goal is the Olympics. Olympic gold and also the T20 World Cup that year. Don’t forget,” Suryakumar said in a press conference as quoted by Cricbuzz.

The Olympic Games will be held in Los Angeles in August 2028, while the next edition of the T20 World Cup is scheduled later that year in Australia and New Zealand. Suryakumar also reflected on the past month, saying that the feeling of winning the World Cup has not yet fully sunk in.

“It’ll take a little bit of time to sink in. We have just come out of a game. It was a good game. Playing at home. When we wake up tomorrow and go back home, I don’t know where we are going, but it will be a special feeling. Whatever happened in the last two years post 2024 T20 World Cup has been unbelievable and I don’t know how to express it. It has been a wonderful journey,” said Suryakumar.

“Obviously it has been a wonderful journey the last one month though it didn’t start the way we wanted it to start. But then it’s part of the sport. Throughout the journey till today, it has been very special and collectively as a team what we’ve achieved is in front of you,” he added.

Of the nine matches, India won eight, though the campaign was not entirely smooth. The team struggled to overcome the USA in the opening match and then lost a Super 8 game to South Africa. Suryakumar said the campaign truly gained momentum after the match against Zimbabwe.

“When we played in Chennai against Zimbabwe, I felt that we have started playing a different brand of cricket. I understood a little bit how to play going forward. And when I played the (virtual) quarterfinal against West Indies at the Eden Gardens, I felt that there was a different level of confidence in this team,” said Suryakumar.