Watch: PM Narendra Modi's full interaction with T20 World Cup champions India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the T20 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team on Thursday at his residence in New Delhi. The PM congratulated the team for the triumph - India's first ICC title in 11 years and first World Cup since 2011. Modi said the team brought immense joy to the nation by lifting the title in the Caribbean.

“I welcome you all, and it is a great matter of pride that you have given the country so much happiness and I congratulate you all," said PM Modi to kickstart the interaction.

“Generally, I work late, but on the day (final match day) the TV was on and the files were also moving, so it was tough to concentrate.

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“You showed great team spirit and talent, and what I noticed was the patience you guys had. I could see the confidence in you guys and congratulate you all for the victory".

“It is a matter of joy for us that you have filled our country with enthusiasm and celebration and you have fulfilled all the hopes and expectations of our countrymen. My heartiest congratulations to you,” said the PM.

During their almost an hour-long stay at the Prime Minister’s residence, the team narrated their stories and experiences from the win in the USA and the West Indies.

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India captain Rohit Sharma said, “We all had waited a lot for this, worked very hard for this. Many times we came very close to winning the World Cup, but we could not move forward, but this time because of everyone we were able to achieve this.”

Outgoing India head coach Rahul Dravid said, “I would like to thank you for giving us this opportunity to meet you and during our match in Ahmedabad (ODI World Cup final vs Australia), you had come there as well, I agree, the time was not that good, so we are very happy that we could meet you today on this happy occasion.

“I would just like to say that the fighting spirit that Rohit and all these boys have shown, the never-say-die attitude that they have shown, means a lot, the credit goes to the boys, they have worked very hard for this. It is a matter of great joy that these boys have inspired the younger generation,” he added.

Virat Kohli, who had struggled for runs throughout the tournament, scored 76 runs from 59 balls in the final when the team were three down early on. The batter revealed he lacked confidence after poor returns up until the title clash. That all changed after he hit three boundaries in the first over.

#WATCH | During his interaction with PM Modi, Virat Kohli said, "Thank you very much for calling us all here and this day will always remain in my mind because in this entire tournament, I was not able to make the contribution that I wanted to and at one time I also told Rahul… pic.twitter.com/g7kRWr3jBN

— ANI (@ANI) July 5, 2024

“Thank you very much for calling us all here and this day will always remain in my mind because in this entire tournament, I was not able to make the contribution that I wanted to and at one time I also told Rahul (Dravid) bhai that I have not given justice to both myself and the team till now. So he told me that when the situation comes, I am sure that you will come into form.

“So this conversation happened between us and when we went to play, I told Rohit (Sharma), I did not have that much confidence that I would be able to bat the way I wanted to. So when we went to play, I got three fours in the first four balls, so I went and told him, what kind of a game is this, one day it seems that not even a single run will be scored and then another day comes and everything starts happening,” said Kohli.

Rishabh Pant, who made his return to the national team at the T20 World Cup after a lengthy absence due to injuries caused by a near-fatal car accident, played crucial innings in the tournament.

“1.5 years ago I had an accident, so I was going through a very difficult phase, I remember that very well because your call came to my mother and my mother told me that Sir had said that there is no problem, then I became a little calm mentally,” said Pant in the chat with PM Modi.

“After that, during recovery, I used to hear from people whether I would ever be able to play cricket or not, so for the last 1.5 years I was thinking that I should come back to the field and do better than what I was doing,” added the wicketkeeper-batter.

Speaking about his match-winning catch of David Miller in the final over of the title clash, Suryakumar Yadav laughed and said, “At that moment I did not think whether I would be able to catch the ball or not and once the ball came in my hand, I had to pick it up and pass it to the other side… We have practised this thing a lot.”

Player of the tournament Jasprit Bumrah talked about wanting to do more and helping the team in tough situations.

“Whenever I bowl for India, I bowl in very crucial stages. Whenever the situation is difficult, I have to bowl in that situation. So I feel very good when I am able to help the team and if I am able to win the match from any difficult situation, then I get a lot of confidence and I carry that confidence forward as well.

“And especially in this tournament, there were many situations where I had to bowl tough overs and I was able to help the team and win the match,” said the seamer.

Hardik Pandya, who had tough couple of months with injuries and fan criticism after taking over as Mumbai Indians captain, revealed his own mindset entering the T20 World Cup.

“Last 6 months have been very entertaining for me, there have been a lot of ups and downs and the public booed me. A lot of things happened and I always felt that if I give any answer, it would be through sports… So I believed that I would stay strong, will work hard,” said the all-rounder who has jumped to the top of the ICC rankings.