Rohit Sharma Reflects on India’s 0-3 Series Loss to New Zealand: “I Wasn’t at My Best”

India's cricket captain, Rohit Sharma, has openly acknowledged his team's shortcomings following their disheartening 0-3 defeat against New Zealand at home. In the aftermath of the series loss, Rohit emphasized the collective failures of the team, admitting that they were completely outplayed by the Kiwis throughout the series.

After the team's struggles in the first two Tests, hopes were high for a turnaround in the final match at Wankhede Stadium. However, once again, the Indian batting lineup faltered under pressure from New Zealand's spinners. Rishabh Pant stood out as the only batter who managed to make a significant impact, leaving Rohit to lament the overall performance of his teammates.

“Losing a series, losing a Test is never easy; it's something that's not easily digestible," Rohit said during the post-match presentation. "We didn't play our best cricket, and we have to accept that. New Zealand did much better than us. We made a lot of mistakes, and we'll have to accept it. We didn’t put enough runs on the board in the first innings of the previous Tests, and here, we got a 30-run lead but didn't capitalize on it. The target was achievable, but we needed to do better."

Reflecting on his own batting performance, Rohit admitted that despite his attacking approach, it failed to yield results in this series. “You want runs on the board as well, and that was in my mind today. When it doesn't come off, it doesn’t look great,” he said. “There were certain ideas I had in mind when I went to bat, but it didn’t come off, and that’s disappointing for me.”

Rohit praised the efforts of Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant, who managed to score runs in the third Test, noting that they demonstrated the proper approach to batting on challenging surfaces. However, he also acknowledged the lasting impact of this defeat on him personally. “Those guys showed how to bat on these surfaces. We’ve played on such pitches for the last 3-4 years, and we know how to perform. But this series didn’t come off, and that’s going to hurt,” he stated. “I wasn’t at my best with both bat and as a captain, and that’s something that will rankle me. We didn’t perform well collectively, and that’s the reason for these losses.”

As India looks to regroup after this disappointing series, Rohit’s candid reflections highlight the challenges the team faces moving forward in international cricket.