Lessons from T20WC 2026 - 1 (TEAM vs SELF)

 

Cricket T20 world cup recently concluded. It was a very entertaining event. Right from the fan following to cross border politics to ups and down in the games. Some unexpected upsets, some unexpected failures, few heroic performances and redemption stories, all was on display in the month-long event. 

I will not talk about the game, but about lessons that I think one could learn in this month. Here is the 1st one. On teamwork from a sport that truly is a team game.

1- Story of Farhan and Shivam

2 players from two archrivals. Both had a good tournament. But there were stark differences in the game outcomes.

Sahibzada Farhan showed that he was the best batter in the tournament. Hitting highest runs, not only for the current tournament but highest ever from any batter in any T20 Worldcup tournament. He also showed consistency in performance match after match. Usually a game where runs scored means a lot, his performance should have put his team in a good spot. But that was not the case. Pakistan barely qualified for the Super-8 stage and then lost and exited from there.

What was lacking, from a viewer standpoint like me, was the team work. Farhan showed personal heroics in  a team game. When you are making that many runs match after match, you get an opportunity to watch what was causing rest of your team to not perform well. You can help them post match from your observation and expect a better performance in the next game. Now I didn't have a view of the locker room discussions or post match talks, but the performances game after game hinted that none of that knowledge was shared. One can only blame team environment may be internal competition, trying to be better than your teammates. Beating your teammates with your performance. So there you had a brilliant Farhan at the cost of a team that lost. Showed cracks in each game they played. Farhan's brilliance alone could not help and he lost along with rest of his teammates.

 

On the other hand, another team, another player. This time Shivam Dube. He had a great tournament too. He is a brilliant player. He is capable of scoring big runs. However, he was brought in to bat, almost every time when they had a specific need. He always delivered selflessly, no big scores in any game, no personal achievements, no big awards. Just came to the field and delivered for his team, to what the team needed, match after match. He used his skill, his strength, and his effort for the team in every single game. Mostly resulting in delivering the edge that the team needed to win. His only reward after all those selfless performances was the Cup that the team lifted, the medal that graced his torso which was swollen with pride of the victory. He supported his team mates in their low times; he celebrated his team mates when they hit high. He knew his role and he never tried to shine beyond that. He turned the situations he was offered into victories for his team. And now his name along with his team etched in history as the WorldCup 2026 winner. 

LEARNING - Clear example for anyone who is in a team environment at sport, work or community what kind of a player you want to be?

Even more needed for the leaders to decide what kind of teams they need, do they want people on the team, who try to shine their brilliance blinding the other team mates or who want to use their inherent light to pave the path to success. 

There were many lessons for me from this world cup as I stated above. 1st one is shared above. I will try to share the next ones soon. Please comment and share your thoughts on the above note and if you drew a similar conclusion.