T20 World Cup: Why Gautam Gambhir dedicated India’s win to Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman

Gautam Gambhir, the head coach of the India national cricket team, dedicated India’s successful defence of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup title to former Indian cricket greats Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.

India defeated the New Zealand national cricket team by 96 runs in the final. With this victory, India became the first team to win three T20 World Cups (2007, 2024, and 2026). They also became the first team to successfully defend the title and the first to win it on home soil.



Despite the big achievement, Gambhir remembered the contributions of Dravid, who coached India during their 2024 T20 World Cup victory, and Laxman, who is currently the head of the BCCI Centre of Excellence.

"I would dedicate this trophy to Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. To Rahul bhai for putting Indian team in a place and Laxman for creating pipeline at CoE," Gambhir said.

Gambhir also thanked chief selector Ajit Agarkar and Jay Shah, the chairman of the International Cricket Council and former secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

"Ajit Agarkar, who took a lot of flak and worked with a lot of honesty. And to Jay bhai. During my lowest ebb in my tenure after losing to NZ and then SA (at home in Test series in 2024 and 2025), he called me," he noted.

In the final, India delivered an excellent performance with the bat, scoring 255/5. They then bowled out New Zealand for 159 runs to secure a comfortable win.

The head coach also praised captain Suryakumar Yadav for working closely with him and helping guide the team during the tournament.

"Surya made my job easier. He has been a leader who is a father figure. Bigger purpose is to celebrate trophies not milestone. For too many years we have celebrated milestones. I will urge you people to stop celebrating personal milestones," Gambhir added.