Rohit, Kohli under fire as India chews over ‘tough pill’ of NZ loss

MUMBAI: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma came under fire Monday as India chewed over a 3-0 Test series home defeat to New Zealand, with critics calling the team ageing and low on confidence.

The cricket superpower went down by 25 runs on Sunday in the third Test inside three days at Mumbai for only their second series whitewash at home. It sealed New Zealand’s historic first-ever Test series triumph on Indian soil.

For India there is little time to fix things -- they travel to Australia for a five-match Test series starting on November 22. “Losing 3-0 at home is a tough pill to swallow and it calls for introspection,” former skipper Sachin Tendulkar wrote on social media.

“Was it lack of preparation, was it poor shot selection or was it lack of match practice?” India went into the series against the Black Caps second in the ICC Test rankings, behind Australia, and as clear favourites.

But repeated batting collapses -- they were 46 all out in their first innings in the opening Test -- set alarm bells ringing. It hardly got much better from there. “I accept the fact that we were not good enough with the bat in the entire series,” said skipper Rohit.

It particularly showed up the Indian batsmen’s surprising inability to handle spinners on turning pitches in their own back yard. Mitchell Santner took 13 wickets in the second match while Mumbai-born New Zealander Ajaz Patel took 11 in the third Test to condemn India. With Australia looming large, the form of 37-year-old Rohit and superstar batsman Kohli, 35, is of particular concern to Indian cricket fans.

Rohit made 91 runs in three matches. Kohli just 93. “The cold fact is that this is now a team in transition with key figures ageing, out of form and low on confidence,” the Times of India newspaper wrote.

“Two of their stalwarts, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, seem to be in a state of terminal batting decline with a strange reluctance to acknowledge it and take corrective action like polishing their game by playing in domestic cricket,” it added.

Indian media reported that all senior players, including Rohit and Kohli, had been advised to play the domestic Duleep Trophy four-day matches, but the players refused due to a “lack of motivation”.

“They should have had some practice, definitely,” former India captain Sunil Gavaskar told the Indian Express. “I know we beat Bangladesh and therefore it looked as if it was going to be a cakewalk against New Zealand,” Gavaskar added.

“But New Zealand, obviously, had a better attack, with cricketers who have played in India and in the IPL, who have a sense of what Indian pitches do.” Rohit and Kohli retired from T20 cricket after the team’s World Cup triumph in June. Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, 38, and Ravindra Jadeja, 35, also suddenly look like age is catching up with them, critics said.