Former Australia captain Michael Clarke felt that the Indian team looked tired as they lost the home Test series against New Zealand. India suffered a rare 0-3 whitewash in a home Test at the hands of the New Zealand team for the first time ever. Clarke highlighted the “mental fatigue”, reflecting on Indian batters’ shot selection as they played non-stop cricket. New Zealand became the first team in 12 years to breach the Indian fortress and win a Test series on home soil.

“Not to take anything away from New Zealand, but it tells me that India are so tired. Some of their shot choices, the use of bowlers and even Rohit to come out and say he wasn’t at his best – I just think it was mental fatigue They’ve played so much non-stop cricket, but it will be a bit of a kick for them,” Clarke said on the Around the Wicket podcast.

However, Clarke did not downplay India’s chances in the upcoming Test series against Australia. He predicted that ‘refreshed’ Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be at their best in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series.

A forgotten outing for Rohit and Kohli

“They know they’ve played well here in Australia and they’ll still come here with a lot of talent and that self-belief, but hopefully fresh. That’s the key for Indian players. Virat Kohli – you can’t be like that for so long and just turn off the tap. So once it cools down, and so does Rohit Sharma, you will see the best of them,” he said. added.

Rohit and Kohli I didn’t have the best at home season this time. The Indian team captain managed just 133 runs in 10 innings, while former captain Virat Kohli scored 192 runs in the same number of innings. Between them, they have recorded just two fifties in five home Tests during the 2024 season.

“I don’t agree with Sunil Gavaskar”

Sunil Gavaskar recently exclusively told India Today that Rohit Sharma should give up his role as captain for the entire series if he intends to miss the first two Test matches due to personal reasons. However, Aaron Finch disagreed with Gavaskar and said that Rohit should be with his family and then resume captaincy duties.

“I completely disagree with Sunny on this. Rohit Sharma is the captain of the Indian cricket team. If you have to stay at home because your wife is having a baby… it’s a moment so beautiful…and you take all the time you need in this regard.