India lost a Test series at home after more than 4300 days and 12 years.
India captain Rohit Sharma has received widespread criticism from Indian cricket fans for his post-match comments following India's 2-0 series loss to New Zealand, which snapped the team's nearly 12-year unbeaten streak in the home Test series.
The setback has had an unanticipated impact on India's preparations for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy versus Australia. Expected to be a comfortable home series, New Zealand's emphatic 113-run triumph in Pune followed India's shattering defeat in the first Test in Bengaluru.
The series defeat has raised concerns among fans and experts alike about the team's preparation for future difficulties, particularly as they prepare for the Australian trip, which begins November 22.
India now faces the prospect of being whitewashed at home by New Zealand, who before this series had won only two Tests in India in total. The Pune Test loss also ended India’s 12-year-long dominance at home where they didn’t lose a single Test series after England defeated them 2-1.
However, Rohit Sharma casually remarked that losing a Test series once in 12 years was allowed and was slammed on social media by fans for his callous remarks.
"We have lost only 2 games. We have won so many matches in India, where batters have played well on bad pitches, why are we not focusing on that? This is the first time that we have collapsed. 12 saal me ek baar to allowed hai yaar. If we were collapsing for 12 years, we would have not won anything. Expectations are high in India that we have to weverythinging. We have made that habit. It is not your fault, it is us who have held ourselves to the best standards," Rohit said in the post-match press conference.
“It has happened in the last two Test matches, we’ve won 18 consecutive series at home which means we’ve done a lot of things right. We’ve performed exceptionally well over the past number of years. Hence, I won’t go too deep into it and that we’ve messed up a lot. I think in 2-3 innings we underperformed with the bat, but it happens when you’re performing consistently for so long, you come to a loss,” Rohit added.
Here is the video:
Rohit stated that he did not want to put unnecessary pressure on his squad, preferring to focus on getting back on track for the final Test against New Zealand in Mumbai, which begins on November 1.
However, some claim that the team's performance demonstrated an over-reliance on veteran players, particularly Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who struggled to deliver consistent innings under duress. Similarly, India's bowling squad struggled in critical moments, allowing New Zealand to capitalize and gain momentum.
Fans were not happy with Rohit Sharma’s casual dismissal of a Test series loss at home and slammed him for his remarks.
Here are the reactions: