VVS Laxman lauds fans for massive support on foreign tours

Hyderabad: The Indian T20 cricket team have been making waves recently, especially after the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 triumph in June earlier this year. The team, which transitioned from Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja to Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh etc, has been playing a fearless brand of cricket, gathering a lot of support from many fans across the globe.

The Indian T20 cricket team are currently in South Africa and are leading the four-match T20 international series 2-1. The fourth and the final T20 will be played at the Wanderers, in Johannesburg, on Friday night.

At an official reception, hosted by the Indian High Commission in South Africa and attended by the Indian diaspora, the Indian team’s stand-in T20 team head coach VVS Laxman said the fearless approach and the Indian diaspora have played vital roles in the team’s success, especially on foreign tours. “What we have seen in these three matches is the fearless approach of this team. During any tours to any foreign country, we play and try to entertain the crowd. And we always feel that we are playing at home. The reason for that is all the wonderful fans of the Indian cricket team – the diaspora of India who settled down in various countries but still love the Indian team and the Indian cricketers,” Laxman said at the official reception.

The stand-in head coach said it was good to see more support for the Indian team than for South Africa. “I don’t know if the support was for the home team or for our team (in South Africa). There was a lot more blue in the crowd than actually green,” Laxman added.

The Indian T20 team captain Suryakumar Yadav said it was good to meet the Indian diaspora during a hectic tour. “It’s always good to meet the Indian community when we come away from home. It makes us feel like we are at home. It’s always good to have such a lovely evening in between a tournament and in between a bilateral series to really have some fun,” the Indian captain said.