India T20I captain Shreyas Iyer paid a heartfelt tribute to stand-in head coach VVS Laxman after guiding the Men in Blue to a comprehensive 3-0 T20I series victory over Zimbabwe. Following India’s dominant campaign in Harare, Iyer praised the former India batter for instilling confidence in the squad and keeping the players motivated throughout the tour.
India sealed the clean sweep with a 35-run victory in the third and final T20I at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday, July 26. After posting 192/5 in their allotted 20 overs, the visitors produced another disciplined bowling performance to restrict Zimbabwe to 157/7, completing a memorable series triumph. The victory also marked Shreyas Iyer’s first bilateral T20I series win as India’s captain, an important milestone after a challenging start to his leadership stint.
In a dressing-room video shared by the BCCI, Iyer thanked Laxman for his constant encouragement and guidance during the three-match series. The skipper revealed that the stand-in coach’s speeches resonated with every player and helped the young squad maintain the right mindset throughout the tour.
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“Thank you to VVS Laxman sir for motivating and inspiring us every day when we stepped onto the field. Everything you mentioned was relevant, and we could relate to it. Thank you so much, and thank you to each and every individual,” Shreyas Iyer said after the series-clinching victory.
The Zimbabwe tour represented a significant turnaround for Iyer, who had endured a difficult beginning to his T20I captaincy during the tours of Ireland and England. India also entered the series without several established players, including Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana, allowing several youngsters to impress on the international stage.
Laxman, meanwhile, reserved special praise for Iyer’s leadership, highlighting the captain’s positivity from the moment he joined the squad. The former India batter said Iyer played a crucial role in bringing together a relatively inexperienced group, especially with only a handful of players carrying over from the England tour.
“We wanted to win the series, and that’s exactly what we achieved. Shreyas had a difficult start to his captaincy journey, but from the day he joined us, he remained incredibly optimistic. He was excited to work with this new group, and a lot of credit for this series victory goes to the way he encouraged every individual in the squad,” VVS Laxman said.
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The stand-in coach also revealed that the team’s primary objective before the opening T20I was to develop and display a winner’s mindset. According to Laxman, every player embraced that philosophy across all three matches, resulting in a dominant series performance.
Following the celebrations, Laxman took to social media to congratulate the players and support staff. He described the series victory as the outcome of maintaining high standards every day and praised the team’s commitment, resilience and selflessness throughout the tour. He also expressed confidence that the young Indian side would continue improving while striving to uphold the highest standards in international cricket.
Laxman stepped in as India’s head coach for the Zimbabwe series while Gautam Gambhir took a short break following the United Kingdom tour. Gambhir is expected to return for India’s upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka, while Laxman is set to resume coaching duties later this year as he prepares to lead India’s campaign at the 2026 Asian Games.
