
Prateek Thakur
abplive|27-07-2026
India captain Shreyas Iyer thanked stand-in head coach VVS Laxman after leading the team to a 3-0 T20I series sweep over Zimbabwe. The young Indian side bounced back impressively after a difficult tour of England, with Iyer and Laxman praising each other's contribution in a dressing-room video shared by the BCCI following Sunday's series-clinching victory in Harare.
Laxman reserved special praise for Iyer, who responded strongly after beginning his captaincy stint with a 0-4 series defeat against England.
The former India batter said Iyer arrived in Zimbabwe with confidence despite the setback and quickly united a squad featuring several new faces.
"I would like to specially congratulate Shreyas because he had a rough start to his captaincy career but the way he came back, right from the first day when he joined us one day before the first game, he was very optimistic," Laxman said in the video released by the BCCI.
"It's a new group of players. We know that only four or five of those who were there in England joined us on this tour. But he was so confident and a lot of credit for this victory should be given to the captain, the way he encouraged each one of you," he added.
Iyer returned the appreciation by thanking Laxman for his role during the tour.
The India captain said the team delivered a complete performance throughout the series, apart from a few missed catches in the field.
"I think we were flawless, honestly speaking, throughout the series barring the catches that we dropped. It was a phenomenal effort by everyone in the team, including the support staff," Iyer said.
"Thank you VVS sir for motivating us and inspiring us. Each and every day when we stepped onto the field, I think everything that you mentioned was apt and we could relate to it. So, thank you so much."
India wrapped up the series with a 35-run victory in the third and final T20I after already sealing the contest in the second match.
The visitors played without several senior players, including Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana. Despite the changes, India dominated all three matches.
Laxman stepped in for regular head coach Gautam Gambhir, who was given a break after the demanding tour of Ireland and England. Gambhir is expected to return before India's Test tour of Sri Lanka in August.
The Zimbabwe series offered India's younger players another opportunity to impress while giving Iyer his first T20I series victory as captain after a difficult start to his leadership journey.




