14 March,2026 09:54 AM IST | Mumbai | Ashwin Ferro
Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube. PICS/GETTY IMAGES
Mumbai has always contributed quality players to a World Cup-winning India side and the recent successful campaign which ended in the Men in Blue becoming the first team to win the T20 World Cup thrice and also the first team to defend its title on home turf, was no different. Mumbai men - skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube - made significant contributions and Mumbai Cricket Association President Ajinkya Naik is an extremely proud man when he proclaims this.
"Mumbai has always produced champions for Indian cricket and this World Cup was no different. It was very satisfying to see Mumbai's invaluable contribution to the national team again. While Suryakumar led the team brilliantly with both bat and his accurate on-field strategies, Dube delivered time and again with his power-hitting in crunch situations," Naik, who accompanied the duo as they paid a visit to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at his residence on Wednesday, tells mid-day.
Critics have often pulled Suryakumar down for not scoring the tons of runs he's known for, while Dube has also been criticised for not delivering consistently with the ball. However, Naik insisted that delivering under pressure is what matters most and that's exactly what this duo have thrived on.
"I've been closely watching both Surya and Shivam excel under pressure right from the first season of the T20 Mumbai League [TML] in 2016. They were in different teams and almost single-handedly performed consistently. To cite a couple of examples, I've seen Surya's team get off to poor starts and struggling at around 30-5, but then he comes in and blasts away, eventually taking the team total to around 190. Shivam, on the other hand, has won so many matches in the TML with his big shots late, down the order. I remember one particular match. His team needed six runs off the last ball and he clobbered the ball into the Wankhede stands so effortlessly. This is why I was always confident that these two would thrive in pressure situations at the T20 World Cup. Surya's 49-ball 84 not out in India's campaign-opener against USA, when the hosts were in spot of bother, and Shivam's eight-ball 26 to take the Indian total past 250 in the final, are examples of just this - thriving under pressure," explained Naik, under whose leadership the MCA has been awarded the Best State Association in domestic cricket for the third consecutive year by the BCCI.
The MCA chief is now planning a felicitation function for Mumbai's star cricketers, both men and women. "We are planning an awards function where we will felicitate all the Mumbai players, who were part of India's women's ODI World Cup-winning team, the men's U-19 World Cup-winning team, and of course the T20 World Cup-winning side. We are currently looking at the availability of all the players and will announce the date accordingly," Naik signed off.
MCA President Ajinkya Naik has told mid-day that it was not just two Mumbaikars, Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube, who helped Team India excel at the T20 World Cup but, in fact, seven. "The other five members were part of the Indian team's support staff. Team manager Sumeet Mallapurkar, liaison officer Khaja Mubassiruddin, media manager Anand Subramaniam, team doctor Dr Rizwan Khan and content producer Ameya Tilak are the other Mumbaikars who have contributed behind the scenes towards the team's success. We are proud of all of them," said Naik.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav expressed heartfelt gratitude to fans after India's triumphant campaign, dedicating the title to millions of supporters who stood beside the team. "Dear Team India fans, a heartfelt thank you. We exist because of your support and blessings. This World Cup trophy belongs to the whole of India," Suryakumar said in a video released by the BCCI on Friday.
59.50
Percentage of runs Suryakumar scored through boundaries; he smashed 21 fours and 10 sixes during his 242-run T20 World Cup campaign
39.16
Shivam Dube's average in the just-concluded T20 World Cup - the second-best for India after Sanju Samson (80.25)
24
No of runs smashed by Shivam Dube off James Neesham in the 20th over of Sunday's final - the most runs scored by India in the last over of a World Cup final
