Indian team slammed by legends following ‘embarrassing’ 3-0 series defeat

Some of India’s biggest stars have been slammed less than a month out from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy following their historic 3-0 series defeat at home to New Zealand.

Cricket legends such as Sachin Tendulkar and Irfan Pathan have called into question the performance of the Indian team following their “embarrassing” 3-0 series loss to New Zealand.

The Black Caps became the first visiting side to clean sweep a minimum three-Test series in India, less than a month before the hosts travel to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The final Test saw India bowled out for 121, needing just 26 more runs for victory and with two and a half days of the match remaining.

It was a historic defeat for a team that hasn’t lost a series at home for 12 years. And concerningly for India, it was their high-profile stars who failed to perform.

Kohli’s disappointing run of form continued with just 93 runs across six innings. Picture: Indranil Mukherjee/AFP

Virat Kohli scored 93 runs at an average of just 15.50, while captain Rohit Sharma was just behind with 91 runs at 15.16. Ravichandran Ashwin was also unusually ineffective with the ball, taking nine wickets at an average of 41.22.

The result has caused understandable unrest inside the BCCI, with the Press Times of India reporting that the quartet of Sharma, Kohli, Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have likely played their last Test at home together.

While the main problem over India’s performance was their inability to play spin, Sharma and Kohli in particular copped the majority of criticism. A piece in the Times of India labelled the pair as being in “a state of terminal batting decline with a strange reluctance to acknowledge it”.

New coach Gautam Gambhir has also drawn the ire of Indian media, with the Hindustan Times describing the series as “rock bottom” and suggesting it will be “impossible to live down”.

The backlash comes at the worst time for the Indian team who are preparing for their first five-game Test series in Australia since the 1991-92 summer.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma copped the majority of the criticism. Picture: Indranil Mukherjee/AFP

Tendulkar was one of many to criticise his former side, calling for action to be taken to ensure there is no repeat performance.

“Losing 3-0 at home is a tough pill to swallow, and it calls for introspection,” Tendulkar posted on X.

“Was it lack of preparation, was it poor shot selection, or was it lack of match practice?

“Full credit to New Zealand for their consistent performance throughout the series. Winning 3-0 in India is as good a result as it can get.”

Losing 3-0 at home is a tough pill to swallow, and it calls for introspection.
Was it lack of preparation, was it poor shot selection, or was it lack of match practice? @ShubmanGill showed resilience in the first innings, and @RishabhPant17 was brilliant in both innings— his… pic.twitter.com/8f1WifI5Hd

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) November 3, 2024

This is embarrassing display by team India at home. Lot to ponder over by the decision makers. Well done New Zealand on such a terrific performance.

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) November 3, 2024

His former teammate Irfan Pathan went one step further, calling the series loss “embarrassing” and echoing the point that further investment needs to be made in the nation’s domestic competition.

“This is embarrassing display by team India at home,” Pathan posted on X. “Lot to ponder over by the decision makers.

“We’re either playing on grassy pitches or flat tracks, but rarely on turning surfaces anymore. Plus, top players aren’t playing domestic cricket. This could hurt us in the long run.”

The loss hasn’t only thrown their preparations for the upcoming series in Australia into disarray, but it has put even more pressure on them to find a result.

Ahead of the New Zealand series, India was sitting on top of the World Test Championship standings and odds-on favourites to qualify for their third-straight final next June.

However, the three consecutive losses have seen them drop to second, and any of Sri Lanka, New Zealand or South Africa could realistically leapfrog them into the top two over the coming months.

The first Test between Australia and India starts on November 22, with the visitors already scrapping their plans for a three-day intra-squad match in favour of a centre-wicket training session.

Originally published as Indian team slammed by legends following ‘embarrassing’ 3-0 series defeat