Gautam Gambhir, T20 World Cup 2026 Final: Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad became witness to a historic moment. India won the third title of T20 World Cup by defeating New Zealand. This victory was enough for the team, because India has now become the only team to win three T20 World Cups.

In the press conference after the final, head coach Gautam Gambhir emotionally gave the credit of the victory to the entire cricket system instead of individual achievement and dedicated the trophy to some special people.

To whom did Gambhir dedicate the trophy?

Gambhir dedicated this trophy to former head coach of Team India Rahul Dravid and head of Coaching Center of Excellence VVS Laxman. He said that Dravid laid a strong foundation in white-ball cricket during his tenure, due to which the team remained stable and balanced. At the same time, the Center of Excellence located in Bengaluru, under the leadership of Laxman, was described as the pipeline of Indian cricket, from where new talents are emerging.

Gambhir believes that this victory rests only on the structure created by him. In the press conference, Gambhir also specially thanked Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar. He praised all the members of the selection panel, development team and coaching staff, because this success is not the result of any one person alone, but the hard work of the entire system.

Gambhir said, 'First of all I want to dedicate this trophy to Rahul Bhai and then to Laxman Bhai.

What Rahul bhai has done to keep Indian cricket in such good shape is tremendous and I have to thank him for everything he did during his time. I would also like to thank VVS Laxman for doing so much unconditionally for Indian cricket, especially behind the scenes, because COE remains the pipeline for Indian cricket and thirdly, of course, Ajit Agarkar, because despite the honesty and commitment with which he has worked, he has to face a lot of criticism.

Second ICC trophy during Gambhir's tenure

Gautam Gambhir was made the head coach of Team India after the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Team India's performance during his tenure has been very strong. India has played 2 ICC tournaments so far under the coaching of Gautam Gambhir and has won both. Before the 2026 T20 World Cup, Team India had also won the Champions Trophy 2025 title under the coaching of Gautam Gambhir.

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