India claimed a commanding 35-run win over Zimbabwe in the third T20I to sweep the series 3-0 on Sunday, July 27 at the Harare Sports Club in Harare. With this, Shreyas Iyer claimed his first ever series win as India's T20I skipper after facing disastrous tours of Ireland and England earlier this month.
Shreyas Iyer praises VVS Laxman
The Men in Blue had a series of impressive performances against Ireland despite missing several key players like Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel and Harshit Rana. India's Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was rewarded with the Player of the Series award for his stunning individual performances throughout the three-game series.
After the series win, the BCCI shared a video of the Indian dressing room, where Shreyas was seen praising VVS Laxman, who took over the coaching duties just for the Zimbabwe tour, for his marvelous man-management and experience that helped the side to overcome previous challenges.
In the video, Iyer noted that the entire team was flawless during the series other than the poor fielding which cost several chances. Iyer went on to applaud the effort put in by the side and the support staff as well.
“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," said Iyer.
While continuing, Iyer remembered Laxman's contribution in his maiden series win as a captain of the Indian T20I team. Shreyas talked about how the former Indian batter helped everyone with his motivation skills and his vast experience of playing in such conditions.
“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," concluded Iyer.
Why did Laxman coach the Indian team for the Zimbabwe series?
Currently, Laxman operates as the head of the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, for the Zimbabwe series he stepped in as India's interim coach, as Gautam Gambhir was not available for this assignment,