Rohit Sharma says India ‘need to seriously look at’ their batting against spin after ODI loss to Sri Lanka

“We need to talk about it.”

“I don’t think it’s a concern,” Rohit said after India’s first ODI series loss to Sri Lanka since 1997. “But it’s something we need to look at seriously, into our individual game plans. We were definitely put under pressure throughout the series. We need to look into it, do something differently, need to talk about it and come back with different plans.”

Rohit struck two half-centuries and was comfortably India’s best batter in the series. He provided barnstorming starts to every run-chase, but once the field spread, the ball got older and began to take turn, it became difficult for batters to maintain that tempo. Especially new ones. India’s middle-order were unable to find a way past this problem.

Were India complacent?

“It’s a joke,” Rohit responded. “When you’re playing for India, there’s no complacency as long as I am here captaining the team. It’s not going to be the case. You come here trying to win every game, give your best and find answers, but yes, we were outplayed. You’ve got to give credit where it’s due, Sri Lanka played better cricket than us.”

This meant Shivam Dube had to share the new ball with Mohammed Siraj. Rohit explained the shake-up in the bowling was dictated largely by the conditions, but also to an extent borne by the need to give some of the younger players opportunities. Parag, who impressed in the T20I leg of the tour with his assortment of legspin and offspin, was the pick of India’s bowlers with 3 for 54 on ODI debut.

“We looked at the conditions and thought taking pace off is an ideal combination,” Rohit said. “Having said that, we also have a lot of players waiting in the wings. We have to look at some of the guys who haven’t got an opportunity. All in all, we didn’t play good cricket throughout the series, hence we stand here.”

Were there any positives?

“A few, like how our spinners bowled,” Rohit said. “But even though you want to look at the positives, I feel there are a lot of areas we need to look at rather than the positives. We will go back, chat about what we need to do when we come up in conditions like this.”

India don’t play an ODI series until January against England leading into the next major global event, the Champions Trophy in 2025. They also have a longish break and don’t play international cricket until late September, when the home Test season kicks off with a series against Bangladesh.

“A series loss doesn’t mean the end of the world,” Rohit said. “These guys have been playing good cricket for the past few years. Yes, we will lose a one-off series here and there, what’s important is how we move on from this and how we can come back.”