'After the 2023 final but...': Suryakumar Yadav breaks silence on ‘Curse’ tag around Narendra Modi Stadium

India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav opened up on the talks around Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium after the team's T20 World Cup 2026 triumph. Notably, after India's heartbreaking defeat in the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia, there were talks that the venue is cursed, and it became stronger after South Africa defeated the Suryakumar Yadav-led side at the same venue during their Super 8 clash of the T20 World Cup 2026.

Suryakumar Yadav on the Ahmedabad curse

However, Suryakumar Yadav, who captained India to the T20 World Cup 2026 triumph at the same venue, denied that the Ahmedabad stadium, the Narendra Modi Stadium, was a ‘curse’ for the team.

“People were saying India doesn’t win in Ahmedabad… this after the 2023 final. But look at it now. We’ve won there, in that same stadium. Now we know there’s no problem with the stadium," he said.

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Why India changed their hotel in Ahmedabad?

Suryakumar Yadav also revealed that the team made a small change before the 2026 final because of a superstition. According to him, the Indian team decided to stay at a different hotel during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup final.

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He said the idea came from one of the members of the Indian group while the team was flying to Mumbai for the semi-final against England. India went on to win that match in the final over. Since things were going well, the team agreed to the suggestion as they didn’t want to take any chances before the big game.

Earlier, the team had stayed at the same hotel in Ahmedabad during two difficult matches, the loss to Australia in the final of the World Cup 2023 and the defeat against South Africa in the Super Eight stage.

In both games, India struggled with the bat on a slow pitch where bowlers, especially spinners and pacers using slower deliveries, had the upper hand. Even though those defeats were mostly due to the tough conditions, someone in the team felt that changing the hotel might help bring better luck this time.

“We were on the flight to Wankhede for the semi-final when someone suggested we try a hotel change. Many teams have done it. We didn’t want to leave anything on the table that could take us closer to our goal. So if someone has won from there, let’s try it," Suryakumar told The Indian Express.