‘We are world champs, I can walk around my office with swag’

India players are ecstatic after beating South Africa in the T20 World Cup final in Barbados on Saturday. Pic/PTI

Every expat has dual allegiances as far as sporting teams are concerned. I am a great example.

Having lived in New Zealand since 2011, I love the Blackcaps as much as I love the Indian cricket team. Every nation has one sport that they hate losing at. For Kiwis, it's rugby. For Indians, it's cricket.

Aussies rub it in

There are many advantages of living in a multi-cultural society like New Zealand, but being continually reminded of the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final or the 2021 WTC final is not one of them. Aussies keep bringing up the 2023 WTC final and the 2023 ODI World Cup final too, after which I remind them of India's consecutive Test series wins on Australian soil.

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Rohit Sharma lifted the T20 World Cup at 2.50pm on Saturday at Barbados. It was 6.50am on Sunday in Wellington. I had been up since 2.30am. Just like I was throughout IPL 2024. Waking up at weird times in the night to follow their favorite team that has always been such an important part of their life, their identity, their family and their community is just one of the things that Indian expats around the world are used to.

I went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. Still buzzing from all the drama that had unfolded on my TV screen. Then, for the first time in years, I smiled at my reflection in the mirror. It was a proud smile. One that will stay on my face for the next couple of weeks at least. One that other cricket crazy expats like me will recognise.

Smile on face, spring in step

Our cricket team is now officially the best in the world at one format and nobody can take that away from us. Along with the smile will be a spring in my step. At the train platform, at the coffee cart, at the food court and at school drop-offs and pick-ups, there will be an unexplainable confidence in my demeanor. I had nothing to do with India winning the World Cup, but seeing the swag that I'll walk around at my office now, you'd think I was Hardik Pandya.

Rohit, Virat, and Jadeja announcing their T20I retirements reminds us of how quickly time flies. It's important to enjoy our all-time greats while we can. The icing on the cake was Rahul Dravid ending his coaching stint with a World Cup in his hands. Good things happen to good people, but remember that it always rains the hardest on people who deserve the sun the most.