Rohit Sharma, India captain, took full responsibility for the 0-3 clean-sweep against New Zealand while accepting that it was a ‘very low’ point in his career. India suffered their first-ever clean-sweep in a home Test series, in a three-Test rubber, as the Black Caps sealed a comprehensive 25-run win to hit the final nail in the coffin against the Men in Blue.
“It is quite tough and it tells you nothing is easy in life,” Rohit said in the post-match press conference. “One day you’re on a high, one day you’re not. And that is something that I’ve learnt at a very young age about life. But that is something that personally I also drive myself through of not getting carried away with certain things in life. It is important for me to understand that life is not about just highs, there can be lows as well, which I have seen a lot through my career. But, definitely, something like this will be a very low point in my career, having lost three games at home.”
Rohit was poor with the bat in the entire series as he scored a meagre 91 runs in six innings at an average of 15.16. Not only his batting, but his captaincy, sometimes defensive, also came under the scanner.
“I fully take the responsibility of that as a captain and as a leader as well. I have not been at the best of my abilities right from the start of the series. And with the bat as well, I have not been good enough.
“Right from the start, I made a decision about batting first on that Bangalore pitch, which was not right. And certain tactical errors, which didn’t go my way. You obviously take chances with those decisions. Sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn’t. And this time around it didn’t come off,” he explained.
Not only Rohit but some of the shot selection by the Indian batters throughout the series was outright atrocious. Whether trying to reverse sweep or getting out on full tosses, the shot selection has been heavily criticised by the pundits and fans alike.
“It wasn’t up to the mark starting from me. The only thing I would say is that when you are chasing a target like that, you want to try and put the pressure on the bowlers. You can’t allow bowlers to bowl on one particular slot,” Rohit mentioned.
“You have to try and do something about it. I played a bad shot, but I don’t regret it, honestly speaking, because that has given me a lot of success in the past. So, I continue to do that. Every now and then, I will reflect about what I need to do as a batter. But again, I know how things work here. When things don’t go well, the questions are asked. If things are going well, no questions are asked. But I accept it. I accept the fact that we were not good enough with the bat in the entire series. We didn’t apply ourselves. There were a lot of mistakes.”
Rishabh Pant was controversially given out by third umpire Paul Reiffel as he overturned the on-field decision of not-out in what was a caught-behind-appeal from the Kiwis. By the looks of it, Pant’s bat brushed his pads at the same time the ball was near to the edge, and there was a slight spike on the ultra-edge. The third umpire went on to give Pant out, perhaps a game-changing decision in favour of the Black Caps.
“About that dismissal, honestly, I don’t know. If we say something, it is not accepted well. But if there is not conclusive evidence, it has to stand with the umpire’s on-field decision. That is what I have been told,” Rohit said. “So, I don’t know how that decision was overturned, since the umpire didn’t give him out. You know, the bat was clearly close to the pad. So, again, I don’t know if it is the right thing for me to talk about.
“It is something for the umpires to think about, have the same rules for every team, not keep changing their mind. But again, that dismissal actually was very, very crucial from our point of view. Rishabh was really looking good at that point and it felt like he would take us through.”
With this series defeat, India now need to win four games and draw one of the five Tests in Australia for an assured qualification for the World Test Championship Final. However, Rohit said that thinking about the WTC Final is something India can’t afford right now with the tour Down Under around the corner.
“Look, I don’t think we can look that far ahead (on WTC Final). It’s important to focus on the next series, which is Australia. A lot of our guys have been there before and a few of the guys haven’t been there before. So, which is why we are trying to go there a little early just to get used to the conditions. And Australia is not an easy place to play cricket. But we can take a lot of confidence from how we played in the last two series in Australia.
“So, in the back of our mind, we have to think like that,” the Indian opener said. “We will think positively as to what happened the last two series that we played there. But again, I’m not going to look beyond the Australia series. The Australia series for us is now very, very important. So, we will try and focus on that rather than thinking about what happens after the Australia series.”
Apart from Rishabh Pant (261), none of the Indian batters managed to cross the 200-run mark in the entire series, with Yashasvi Jaiswal being the second-best with 190 runs. Whereas three Kiwi batters who crossed the 200-run mark. Is the form of Indian batters a concern?
“Obviously, it’s a cause of concern without a doubt (senior batters not performing). If the batters are not performing, that is a cause of concern. But what’s done is done now. I think as a player, as a captain, as a team, we all have to look forward and see how we can correct what we didn’t manage to achieve here. There is a good opportunity for us to go and do something really, really special in Australia,” the Indian skipper said.
“We do understand the importance of this series. But right now, it’s just trying to understand what we didn’t do right, what are the things that we need to do better as a team. Mistakes need to be addressed and something that we will talk about,” he pointed out.
Despite the series defeat, Rohit said that he is doubtful for the opening Test against Australia in Perth, starting November 22. “Right now I am not too sure whether I will be going. But let’s see. Fingers crossed,” he concluded.