‘Rohit Will Be Hurting, He’ll Not Take It Lightly’: Shastri’s Ultimatum To New Zealand Ahead of Mumbai Test – News18

Last Updated:October 28, 2024, 20:53 IST

Former head coach Ravi Shastri, who was on commentary duties, said the Indian is not going to take this loss ‘lightly’.

Coming to India and winning a Test series has been a distant dream for the visiting teams in the last 12 years. But New Zealand scripted history last week with a 113-run win in Pune which ended India’s home dominance after 18 straight series victories. The Black Caps are currently leading the 3-match series 2-0 with the final fixture to get underway from Friday in Mumbai.

After the Pune heartbreak, Rohit was visibly dejected as he walked up to speak at the post-match presentation. Former head coach Ravi Shastri, who was on commentary duties, said the Indian is not going to take this loss ‘lightly’.

“Rohit Sharma is a proud man. He will not take it lightly. Let me assure you of that. 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,” said Ravi Shastri.

Rohit scored 0 & 8 in the second Test against New Zealand. On the leadership front, he was also criticised for his on-field tactics. Speaking on Cricbuzz, Dinesh Karthik said the Indian skipper didn’t have a great Test match.

“Not at his best. I thought he had a very tough Test match, he did all he could. I could see there was a lot of pressure on him, adding to the fact, that he did not get many runs as well. So overall, it was not a great Test match. He will reflect and think, ‘What could I have done better? Was I a reactive captain or a pro-active captain’,” he said.

“There is a fine line, this Test match was one where he was chasing the ball a little bit. He tried his best with whatever he could, but you have to say it wasn’t the best game for either him or Team India,” he added.

The series loss against the Kiwis has made India’s road to the World Test Championship (WTC) trickier as Rohit Sharma & Co will need to win four out of their remaining six games to make a swift entry to the final.