He didn’t let the players get stressed. Be it a question about Abhishek Sharma or Kuldeep Yadav, he would answer with a smile. Suryakumar never tried to be the “Surya Dada” (big brother) of the team, but rather gave everyone the freedom to make their own way. In the press conference before the final, he said, ‘Within five-six months of being the captain, I started to understand and connect with the team, then I felt there was no need to be an elder brother or a father, they should be given the freedom to chart their own path.’ Photo-AP