Team India won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 by defeating New Zealand by 96 runs in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The Men in Blue became the first team to win the competition in two consecutive editions. They also became the first country to win the tournament on home soil and won the title three times.
The celebrations have not stopped yet as the cricketers are getting a grand welcome on their return home. After the T20 World Cup win, Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav were seen visiting a temple in Mumbai. Victory parade was also organized in Mumbai. Gambhir’s record of not losing an ICC Knockout game remained perfect.
India’s unique World Cup connection
However, there is an interesting thing associated with India’s success in winning the ICC World Cup trophy over the years. Since India’s first World Cup win in 1983, until the 2026 T20 World Cup, whenever the Men in Blue won the World Cup, one Punjab-born cricketer and one Kerala-born cricketer have been in the team.
In 1983, Sunil Valson and Balwinder Singh Sandu were present in the side; In 2011, it was Harbhajan Singh and S Sreesanth who were present. Sanju Samson and Arshdeep Singh were present in the team in the 2024 edition and in this edition also Samson and Arshdeep were present in the team.
If Mallu is in Indian team then we will win ICC trophy- Varun Chakraborty
During the Naman Awards of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Varun Chakraborty took a humorous dig at this unique connection. “There was a meme going around that if we have Mallu in the Indian team we will win the ICC trophy, so bringing Sanju in the 11 was a master stroke,” he said.
Varun Chakravarthy said, “There was a meme going around, if we have Mallu in the Indian team, we will win the ICC trophy, so bringing Sanju in the 11 was a master stroke.” pic.twitter.com/lVFNM3P821
– Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) 15 March 2026
Sanju Samson was excellent throughout the tournament. The wicketkeeper batsman was the Player of the Tournament for his excellent performance in the tournament. He was not part of the playing eleven during the opening match; Abhishek Sharma kept going in and out due to stomach worms. Samson was brought back into the team after India’s defeat to South Africa.
Sanju Samson is the hero of India’s success
After that, Sanju Samson never looked back, scoring three consecutive fifties in India’s most important games, scoring 97* in the Super 8 game against West Indies, scoring 89 in the semi-final against England, and scoring 89 in the final against New Zealand. Sanju finished the campaign as the leading run-scorer for India with 321 runs at an average of 80.25.
After scoring 321 runs, he also became the first batsman to surpass Virat Kohli’s highest score (314) in the T20 World Cup edition. Sanju will next be seen for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) during the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL).
Varun Chakravarthy also performed brilliantly in the T20 World Cup, taking 14 wickets and was the joint-highest wicket-taker in the tournament along with Jasprit Bumrah. Chakraborty and Bumrah will now be seen playing against each other for Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians.
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