‘Thank you Mr VVS’: Shreyas Iyer credits Laxman after India’s 3-0 thrashing of Zimbabwe

VVS Laxman and Shreyas Iyer (Screengrab) India’s comprehensive 3-0 T20I series win over Zimbabwe ended in mutual appreciation between captain Shreyas Iyer and stand-in head coach VVS Laxman as both credited each other for leading the team’s outstanding performances. A relatively inexperienced Indian team, missing several first-choice players including Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana, completed a 35-run victory in the third and final T20I in Harare on Sunday. In a dressing room video shared by BCCI after the series, Laxman singled out Iyer for praise and applauded the captain’s attitude and leadership despite a difficult start to his tenure as India’s T20I captain. “I would like to specially congratulate Shreyas because he had a tough start to his captaincy but the way he came back, right from day one when he joined us a day before the first match, he was very upbeat,” Laxman said, referring to India’s 0-4 series defeat against England earlier this month. Laxman said Iyer’s confidence was evident right from the start, even though there were a few new faces in the squad and only a handful of players carried over from the England tour. “It’s a new group of players. We know only four or five of those who were there in England have joined us on this tour. But he was so confident and a lot of credit for this win has to go to the captain for encouraging each and every one of you,” he added. Iyer, who recorded his first series win as India’s T20I captain, returned the compliment by thanking Laxman for the impact he had on the team throughout the tour. “I think we’ve been faultless, honestly, throughout the series, apart from the catches we dropped. It was a phenomenal effort from everyone in the team, including the support staff.” “Thank you VVS sir for motivating and inspiring us. Every day when we stepped on the field I think everything you mentioned was apt and we could relate to it. So thank you very much,” said Iyer. Laxman stepped in as interim head coach for the Zimbabwe series while regular head coach Gautam Gambhir took a break after India’s tough tour of Great Britain. Gambhir is expected to return for India’s Test tour of Sri Lanka in August. A successful campaign in Zimbabwe again highlighted Laxman’s ability to lead young teams on short assignments, while Iyer’s composed leadership helped India bounce back strongly from a disappointing series against England earlier in the month.