(Source Youtube)
India’s victory resonated across the nation and the globe as fans watched with awe, anticipation, and jubilation while the Indian cricket team lifted the 2024 T20 World Cup trophy.
The 11-year wait for another trophy was deeply felt by Indian fans everywhere.
For players like Robin Uthappa and R Ashwin, the end of this long drought of trophies carried profound personal significance. They shared their emotions and reflections on this monumental achievement.
“Unbelievable. I have watched cricket through the years, I have played it, I have won trophies such as the World Cup in 2011 and the Champions Trophy in 2013. But, the way that the players emoted upon winning, what it meant to them all, with Dravid bowing out in 2007 to Rohit and Virat coming so close to winning multiple titles, it was truly a full circle moment without any doubt,” stated an inspired and moved Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
In contrast, Uthappa was visibly moved and tearful as the former T20 World Cup winner opened up about the personal challenges and hardships that every player experiences as part of the national team.
“Had you talked to me 20 minutes earlier, I would have been in tears. I was so full of emotion, thinking about each individual player and what they had been through,” said Uthappa.
“To have put with the criticism, the trolling, to go through the struggles and hardships and hate, is not easy. For people to keep continually doubting your ability, you begin to doubt yourself at some point and you being to ask yourself, “Is it possible?” I could feel every person’s emotion so strongly. I cried for each of them after their victory. I thanked God, and I now thank every cricketer who’s played for India. This win was so long in the making,” Uthappa stated as he shed tears of joy and relief for the win.
Moreover, Uthappa elaborated on the extensive and challenging journey that Indian cricket legend Rahul Dravid, now the head coach of India, had personally undertaken to finally lift a World Cup trophy.
“Look at Rahul Dravid’s career, as a coach and as a player. Think about how many years he’s played. And in his last game as the coach and possibly his last day of ever being associated with the BCCI, that is the day he finally gets his first trophy.”
“We saw that 50-year-old man celebrate like a 5-year-old kid. This is the beauty of sport. They all deserved to be world champions,” concluded Uthappa.
