India beat New Zealand by 96 runs in the summit clash, and Gambhir took that moment to express his gratitude to Dravid, his predecessor, and Laxman, who heads the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
“Look, first of all, I think I should dedicate this trophy to Rahul (Dravid) bhai and then to Laxman. Because what Rahul bhai has done to keep Indian cricket in such a good shape, I have to thank him for everything, what he’s done during his tenure,” Gambhir said in the post-match press conference.
“And then VVS Laxman for unconditionally doing so much for Indian cricket, especially behind (closed) doors, because COE remains the pipeline for Indian cricket.”
Dravid was the head coach when India won the 2024 T20 World Cup under Rohit Sharma while Laxman has drawn widespread praise for grooming the next line of players at the COE.
Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar’s influence in team building was also praised by Gambhir.
“…he does take a lot of flak and the amount of honesty he’s worked with,” he said, eluding to some tough calls by Agarkar, including the decision to hand over ODI captaincy to Shubman Gill last year despite Rohit leading the team to the Champions Trophy triumph.
“Last but not the least, I have to thank Jay Shah, because not many people have actually called me when I’ve gone through the lowest moments in my tenure,” he said referring to Test debacles both at home and in away series.
“Whether it was after New Zealand (at home), whether it was after South Africa (at home), the only person who called me actually was Jay Bhai,” he recalled.
“And I had to thank him for trusting me with this job,” Gambhir concluded.
(With PTI inputs)
First Published: Mar 9, 2026 6:41 PM IST