India captain Rohit Sharma said the 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand was "a very low point" in his career and he had not come up to the mark either as a leader or as a batsman. He also accepted that he made some tactical errors that led to the loss of the series for India.
India were outplayed by New Zealand in all departments of the game, getting shot out for 46 in the first innings of the first Test at Bengaluru they lost by eight wickets, and could manage only 156 in their first innings in the 113-run debacle on a turning track in Pune and were shot out for 121 chasing 147 runs in the second innings on a rank turner at the Wankhede on Sunday and were humbled in three successive Test matches at home for the first time.
"It is very important, you know, for me to understand that life is not about just highs. There can be lows as well, which I have seen a lot throughout my career. But definitely, something like this will be a very low point in my career, having lost three games at home. I fully take responsibility for that as a captain and as a leader as well. I have not been at the best of my abilities right from the start of the series. And, yeah, with the bat as well, I've not been good enough," Rohit candidly said at the post-match presser following India's 25-run defeat in the third and final Test on Sunday.
Rohit admitted that they would have to relook at their strategy to go for spinning tracks in the light of Indian batters failing in Pune and at the Wankhede.
"Yes, course. Well, in playing on pitches and everything, we do not as such decide so much before series-wise what we want. Of course, this time round we felt this was what was right for us, for the team. The thing is more often than not, we have managed to come out on the good side of it. I mean, it's happened just once so far to the point that we hadn't managed to get as much out of this particular series as we would like to," added the captain of India.
When questioned by what he thinks those were the mistakes he has made in this series, Rohit said some of the strategic moves, that which he made went into a wrong direction that series.
"Right from the start, I took a call about batting first on that Bangalore pitch which was not right and (there were) certain tactical errors also which didn't go my way. You obviously take chances with those decisions. Sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn't. And this time around it didn't come off the certain decisions that I took. So yeah, I was not at my best of my leadership and (that) probably cost us the series as well," said Rohit.
He said that handling whitewash 0-3 is quite difficult, especially when it comes after the first time on India's home soil. "It is quite tough. And it tells you nothing is easy in life. You know, one day you're on a high, one day you're not. And that is something that I've learnt at a very young age about life. But that is something that personally, I also drive myself through with not getting carried away with certain things in life.".
"It is important, you know, for me to understand that life is not about just highs. There can be lows as well, which I have seen a lot throughout my career," Rohit said, turning philosophical about the worst series played by India in recent times.
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