Former India coach Ravi Shastri has said that Rohit Sharma is too proud a man to take India’s series loss against New Zealand lightly. India lost a home Test series for the first time since 2012 against New Zealand, under Rohit’s leadership. After the second Test defeat, Rohit Sharma had asked for celebration of 12 years of no defeats rather than digging into the negatives of one series loss. However, Shastri believes that Rohit will not rest on his laurels, but will be hurting.
“Rohit Sharma is a proud man. He will not take it lightly. Let me assure you of that,” said Shastri, speaking on commentary during the second Test.
Shastri reiterated that every player in the Indian dressing room will be desperate to turn things around.
“His body language might suggest that he’s very relaxed. But deep down, he’ll be hurting and hurting big. Not just with him but with every Indian player in that dressing room,” Shastri added.
Rohit Sharma’s captaincy came under immense scrutiny during the New Zealand series. In particular, Rohit’s decision to bat first after an entire day had been washed out in the first Test was heavily criticised.
Rohit’s form with the bat has also come into question during the series. The Indian captain has managed only 62 runs in four innings.
Despite the series defeat, which ended India’s record run of 18 consecutive home Test series wins, Rohit downplayed it in the post-match press conference.
“Just because we have lost a series, I don’t think there is anything that we need to talk differently or do differently. But yeah, we need to find ways to come out of those situations,” said Rohit.
“You don’t need to overreact. But you need to have a quiet chat with certain individuals and let them know where they are at and what, as a team, we require from them,” Rohit added.
India take on New Zealand in the final Test from Friday, November 1.
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