I have not been at my best since the start of the series: Rohit Sharma

MUMBAI: The last time Rohit Sharma walked into the Wankhede Stadium ahead of the third Test against New Zealand, he was a captain who could do no wrong. That was four months ago and he was basking in the glory of leading India to a T20 World Cup triumph. Amid jubilant scenes, the Indian players took to Marine Drive in an open-top bus parade before celebrating with dancing and music at the famous ground.

How fast is everything changing? On Sunday, Rohit became India’s first Test captain to lose a three-match home series against a New Zealand side that had a chance when they landed in the country.

“Yes, it’s quite tough (from winning the T20 World Cup to losing in New Zealand); it tells you that nothing in life comes easy. One day you’re high, one day you’re not. This is what I learned about life at a very young age. But personally, I manage myself without getting excited about certain things.

“It is important for me to understand that life is not only ups and downs, there can also be downs, which I have seen a lot in my career. Something like that would be a very low point in my career, I lost three games at home. I take full responsibility as a captain and as a leader. From the very beginning of the series, I did not show myself in the best way. With the bat too, I wasn’t good enough,” Rohit said after his team capitulated on 121 in a 147-run chase to lose the third Test by 25 runs.

Rohit’s failures in the batting hurt the team and Virat Kohli’s failures further worsened India. Apart from his 52 in the second innings of the Bengaluru Test, Rohit made 2, 0, 8, 18 and 11. Questions about his batting form had been raised before this series as well. Although India won both Tests against Bangladesh, he averaged 10.50 in four innings with a top score of 23.

On Sunday, his early dismissal (11) as he tried to get Matt Henry out caused a top-order collapse, reducing India to 29/5. His ultra-aggressive approach has come under scrutiny. Success from the start brought him success in T20 and ODI cricket. But using this style in tests had negative consequences. In Mumbai, New Zealand was set a target of just 147 in the fourth innings. Rohit took to the shots immediately. He hit two fours but fell while playing his favorite shot.

“As for recruitment, he was not up to par, starting with me. But when you’re chasing a goal like that, you want to try and put pressure on the players. You cannot allow players to play the same slot. You should try to do something about it. Yes, I played a bad shot, but I have no regrets because it (the pull) brought me great success; so I will continue to do so. Every now and then I think about what I need to do as a batsman. But I know how things are arranged here: when things are not good, they ask questions. If things are going well, no questions are asked.”

The ultra-attacking approach also raises the question of whether he has enough faith in his defense. “I didn’t defend much in this series because I didn’t have much to defend there. I have to look at my game and try to understand what I am capable of. When I go out to bat, I’m always thinking about how I can put the team in the best situation in the game, so sometimes when the first overs start, they set the tone. Sometimes you can fall on the other side, and in this series I fell. I don’t see me losing faith in my defense. I just need to spend more time defending the balls, which I haven’t done in this series.

“I admit that I did not play well in this series. But only for these two series I did not have enough time in the middle. I spent a lot of time in the series I played before Bangladesh. So I will look at my game and see what I can do best.”

Rohit’s captaincy also came under fire. He admitted his mistake by reading the Bengaluru field after India were bowled out for 46, their lowest total at home. Pundits also said his captaincy was too defensive in the Pune Test.

“As far as my captaincy is concerned, I took the decision to bat first on the field in Bangalore, which was wrong. I also made some tactical mistakes. These decisions did not benefit me. You are obviously taking a risk with such decisions. Sometimes it is removed, sometimes not. And this time it didn’t happen.

“I wasn’t up to my management and that probably cost us the series as well.”