India’s comprehensive 3-0 T20I series win over Zimbabwe ended with mutual appreciation between the captain Shreyas Iyer and the stand-in head coach VVS Laxmanas both credit the other’s leadership for the team’s commanding performances. A relatively inexperienced Indian team, missing several top-choice players incl Saint SamsonAxar Patel, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana completed the clean sweep with a 35-run win in the third and final T20I in Harare on Sunday. In a dressing room video shared by the BCCI after the series, Laxman singled Iyer out for praise, applauding the captain’s attitude and leadership despite a difficult start to his tenure as India’s T20I captain. “I want to congratulate you in particular shreyas because he had a tough start to his captaincy career, but the way he came back, right from day one when he joined us a day before the first match, he was very optimistic,” said Laxman, referring to India’s 0-4 series defeat against England earlier this month. Laxman said Iyer’s confidence was evident from the start, even though the team featured many fresh faces with only a handful of players carried over from the England tour. “It’s a new group of players. We know that only four or five of those who were in England will join us on this tour. But he was so confident and a lot of credit for this victory must be given to the captain, the way he encouraged each of you,” he added. Iyer, who recorded his first series win as India’s T20I captain, returned the compliment by thanking Laxman for the influence he had on the team throughout the tour. “I think we were flawless, honestly speaking, throughout the series, except for the catches we dropped. It was a phenomenal effort from everyone in the team, including the support staff.” “Thank you VVS, sir, for us motivated and inspired. Every day, when we took a step on the field, I think that everything you mentioned was apt and we can relate to it. So, thank you very much,” said Iyer. Laxman stepped in as interim coach for the Zimbabwe series while he was regular coach Gautam Gambhir took a break after India’s demanding tour of the UK. Gambhir is expected to return for India’s Test tour to Sri Lanka in August. The successful campaign in Zimbabwe once again highlighted Laxman’s ability to lead young teams on short assignments, while Iyer’s composed leadership helped India bounce back strongly after the disappointing England series earlier this month.