Ahmedabad, March 8 India head coach Gautam Gambhir stated on Sunday that he is only accountable to the players in the dressing room, and dedicated India's successful T20 World Cup title defense to stalwarts Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.
With their 96-run victory over New Zealand in the final here, India became the first team to win three T20 World Cups (2007, 2024, 2026), the first to defend their title, and also the first to do so at home.
"My accountability is not to people on social media. My accountability is to those 30 people in the dressing room," Gambhir said during the post-match press conference.
"A coach is only as good as his team. The players made me the coach I am," Gambhir added.
However, even in the midst of his success, Gambhir did not forget Dravid, who guided the team to victory in 2024, and Laxman, the current head of the BCCI Centre of Excellence.
"I would dedicate this trophy to Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. To Rahul bhai for putting the Indian team in a winning position and Laxman for creating the pipeline at the CoE," he added.
The former India opener also thanked chief selector Ajit Agarkar and Jay Shah, the current ICC Chairman and the former BCCI secretary.
"Ajit Agarkar, who faced a lot of criticism and worked with a lot of honesty. And to Jay bhai. During my lowest point in my tenure after losing to NZ and then SA (at home in the 2024 and 2025 Test series), he called me," he noted.
India produced an explosive batting performance, scoring 255 for five, and then bundled out New Zealand for 159 to emerge comfortable winners.
"We need to let go of the fear of losing. Rather than playing defensively, scoring 120 is acceptable. The key has been bravery and showing courage to score 250 in the semi-finals and the final," Gambhir said.
The head coach praised captain Suryakumar Yadav for working in tandem with him.
"Surya made my job easier. He has been a leader who is a father figure. The main goal is to celebrate trophies, not milestones. For too many years, we have celebrated milestones. I urge you to stop celebrating personal milestones," Gambhir reiterated.
Suryakumar backed Gambhir's words.
"I played four years under GG's captaincy (for Kolkata Knight Riders). We never had arguments because we had a common goal: how to make the team win. Our friendship was built on that. He took two steps, and I took two steps," said Suryakumar, who said the team would now like to win gold in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
He added, "I can't say this is India's white-ball era. If it were our white-ball era, we wouldn't have lost the last two of the last three ODI series.
"I have picked teams based on faith and trust. I have never picked a team based on hope."
Powered by a blazing 89 from Sanju Samson and explosive half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma (52) and Ishan Kishan (54), India's top order went on a six-hitting spree, leaving the New Zealand bowlers shell-shocked in the final, posting an imposing total.
With the ball, Jasprit Bumrah (4/15 in four overs) was excellent as usual, while Axar Patel (3/27) also made an impact, as India bundled out the Kiwis cheaply.
