The embarrassing 0-3 whitewash to New Zealand has put the Indian team under the scanners ahead of the mega Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The Asian Giants, who were once termed as invincibles at home, were just outperformed by New Zealand, who registered their first-ever Test series win on Indian soil, and that too a historical whitewash. The star-studded Indian batting line-up failed miserably against the Kiwi spin attack, which spun its web and helped the Blackcaps scripting history. Star batters like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were put under the scanners for their poor outings throughout the series.
However, former Australia captain Michael Clarke suggested that it was more of mental fatigue, which led the Indian team down, which also reflected their shot selection.
“Take nothing away from New Zealand but It tells me India are so fatigued. Some of their shot selection, the use of bowlers and even Rohit to come out and say he wasn’t at his best – just Think it was mental fatigue. They’ve played so much cricket without a break, but it’ll be a little kick up the backside for them,” Clarke said in Around the Wicket Podcast.
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma’s poor form a big concern
Kohli and Rohit have concluded extremely underwhelming home season consisting of series against Bangladesh and Kiwis which does not serve as a good sign for the team ahead of the high-profile BGT series.
In the five home Tests, Rohit has scored 133 runs at an average of just 13.30, with a half-century in 10 innings. His scores this home season were 6, 5, 23, 8, 2, 52, 0, 8, 18 and 11.
On the other hand, Kohli managed to get 192 runs in 10 innings at an average of 21.33, with just one fifty. He struggled against the spinners and registered strings of low scores: 6, 17. 47, 29*, 0, 70, 1, 17, 4 and 1.
However, Clarke asserted that the star Indian duo would get back to their best if they arrived in Australia after freshening up.
“They know they’ve played well out here in Australia and they’ll still come here with plenty of talent and that self-belief, but hopefully fresh. That’s the key for the Indian players. Virat Kohli – you can’t be that good for such a long period of time and just turn the tap off. So once he freshens up, and Rohit Sharma the same, you’ll see the best of them,” he added.
