Mumbai: The disastrous performance of star batters is certainly a cause of concern for India, admitted Rohit Sharma after a stunning reversal against New Zealand but the skipper promised that the team will fight to deliver something ‘very very special’ in Australia.
New Zealand went strength to strength in the series while hosts India could not bring their floundering campaign back on track and ended up suffering a rare and humiliating 0-3 whitewash.
Rohit (91) and Virat Kohli (93) managed less than 200 runs across three Tests, a major reason for India’s debacle.
“It’s a cause of concern without a doubt. If the batters are not performing, that is a cause of concern,” Rohit said.
“What is done, is done now. 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. We will focus on that.”
India have already been displaced from the top of the World Test Championship table following the embarrassing result at home and it could hasten the impending transition for the Test side. Still, Rohit preferred to look only at the immediate challenge of Australia tour.
“I don’t think we can look that far ahead. I’m not going to look beyond Australia series. Australia series, for us, is now very, very important. We will try and focus on that rather than thinking about what happens after.
“A lot of our guys have been there before and a lot of the guys haven’t been there before, which is why we are trying to go there a little early just to get used to the conditions.”
Rohit said India will have to draw a lot of confidence from their last two series wins with the team set to play five Tests Down Under for the first time ever.
“Australia is not an easy place to play cricket. But we can take a lot of confidence how we played in the last two series in Australia. In the back of our mind, we have to think like that,” said Rohit.
Rohit, of late, has adopted an ultra-aggressive and risky approach while batting, and it has resulted in him losing his wicket rather quickly.
He maintained that he has not lost faith in his defensive skills and his style of batting was more of an evolution process he chose for himself but promised to have a re-look into it.
“I haven’t defended a lot in this series because I haven’t been there to defend. Clearly I have to look at my own game and try and see what best I can do. When I go to bat, I always think how I can put the team in the best situation of the game.”
“When the openers go in, they set the tone and sometimes you can fall on the other side of it as well. This series, I have fallen on the other side of it. But I don’t see that I have lost faith in my defence.
“I accept that I haven’t batted well in this series. But it’s been only these two series where I have not had enough time in the middle.
“The series (against England) that I played before Bangladesh (series), I spent a lot of time. As you grow you try and evolve and I am trying to evolve as a batter as well to try and see what else I can do. I will re-look at my game and see what best I can do,” he added.
Rohit said it is important for him and Kohli to address what has not worked for them.
“Those mistakes need to be addressed and something that we will talk about,” he said.
Rohit also admitted that it will be a challenge to keep the young Indian batters in the right mindset Down Under.
“We all understand that Australia is going to be a different ball-game. For all the young players who haven’t been there before, for us it will be important to create that environment where they feel comfortable and don’t get intimidated by where you’re playing and who you’re playing against.
“The last two times we’ve been there, we won the series. We can take a lot of confidence from that and then keep moving them ahead with that.
“We don’t want to create a classroom where we make everyone sit and talk to them about what needs to be done. They all understand, and they all are quite smart about their plans. I expect them to come really, really good in Australia,” he said.
PTI
