'They are now on a different level' - Viv Richards in awe of India's white-ball dominance

Legendary batter Sir Viv Richards has heaped praise on Team India, comparing their recent dominance to that of the great West Indies side from the 1970s which won the first two iterations of Men's World Cup.

Richards’ praise come after the Men in Blue secured their second consecutive T20 World Cup title, convincingly beating New Zealand in the final by 96 runs.

The former West Indies batter believes that India have taken white-ball cricket to new heights. He was also happy for the Indian supporters who got to witness the triumphant run on their home soil. Suryakumar Yadav’s side became the first in the history of Men’s T20 World Cup history to win the tournament as hosts.

"India have taken the game, in my opinion, to a different level, more so in the limited overs - the ODIs, the T20s," Richards was quoted as saying on India Today.

Richards compared India winning the T20 World Cup to the impact and joy West Indies’ back-to-back World Cup winning campaigns brought to their fans in the Caribbean. 

"It is a great present for the fans because of the love and the passion that they show for the game in itself. I just think the result would have been the right result because of that love and passion and the country that it is played in.

"We won the very first World Cup in 1975 and the next one in 1979. So, cricket had a huge part to play where we are as West Indians. And more so, the folks who would have been fans of the West Indies teams of the past certainly will remember some of the great times that we had,” Richards added. 

India’s domination in white-ball cricket started with the 2024 T20 World Cup win the United States and Caribbean. Rohit Sharma’s side would then go on to win the ICC Champions Trophy a year later before Suryakumar led them to their most recent title in March 2026.