The Indian team, on March 8, became the first team to win an ICC T20 Men's World Cup on the home ground. And after this, Gautam Gambhir attended the press conference and passed the credits to the former coach Rahul Dravid. In 2024 India, with almost the same side won the trophy in Johannesburg with Rahul Dravid as the coach and Rohit Sharma as the captain.

 

After retaining the trophy, Gambhir addressed the media. There he dedicated the trophy to Dravid and VVS Laxman, who is currently the head of cricket in the BCCI Centre of Excellence. Gambhir, in the post-match pressy said,

 

“First of all, I want to dedicate this trophy to Rahul bhai (Rahul Dravid), and then to Laxman bhai (VVS Laxman). What Rahul bhai has done to keep Indian cricket in such good shape has been incredible, and I have to thank him for everything he did during his tenure."

 

He added,

 

“I would also like to thank VVS Laxman for doing so much for Indian cricket unconditionally, especially behind the scenes, because the COE remains the pipeline for Indian cricket."

 

Gambhir also thanked the BCCI chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, for taking "a lot of flak." He said,

 

"And thirdly, of course, Ajit Agarkar, because he takes a lot of flak despite the honesty and commitment with which he has worked." 

 

Gambhir thanked Jay Shah for supporting in tough times

 

The journey of Gautam Gambhir as coach has been filled with trolls and taunts. His career started with a home Test series whitewash against New Zealand. Apart from the T20Is, his tenure hasn't seen much of an uplift, especially a shambolic display in red-ball cricket. Despite that, Gambhir revealed that Jay Shay has been a consistent support to him. 

 

Gambhir said that the ICC chief was the one who called him at his lowest. Gambhir said,

 

"And last but not the least, I have to thank Jay Bhai (Jay Shah) because not many people actually called me when I went through the lowest moments of my tenure — whether it was after New Zealand or after South Africa series loss. The only person who actually called me was Jay Bhai.

 

“I really have to thank him for trusting me with this job because I remember very clearly that when I was given this role, I had no experience of being the head coach of any franchise or any team. Yet he still trusted me with the responsibility. So I have to thank him for that. And I think as long as people like him are there, Indian cricket is in very, very safe hands."

 

India vs New Zealand final match summary

 

Notably, India was dominant throughout at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, against New Zealand. Being asked to bat first, India posted a mammoth record total of 255 courtesy to the half centuries of Sanju Samson (89), Abhishek Sharma (52), and Ishan Kishan (54). Later, Shivam Dube's small cameo took India beyond 250.

 

Tim Siefert (52) was the only one to give a fight from the Kiwi side, while the homeboys Jasprit Bumrah (4/15) and Axar Patel (3/27) did the work with the ball for India. Ishan Kishan was phenomenal on the field, taking three stunning catches,