"Never dreamt of this even in my wildest nightmares" - Atul Wassan slams Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir after NZ debacle

Former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan was shocked after the Rohit Sharma-led side's whitewash defeat against New Zealand in the recently concluded home Test series. Atul Wassan said that he never imagined such a defeat even in his wildest nightmares, describing it as a "collective brain fade" and "harakiri."

The Men in Blue suffered a 25-run defeat in the third and final match at the Wankhede Stadium on November 3. Team India was whitewashed for the first time in a home Test series (three or more matches). It is worth mentioning that the Tom Latham-led team secured the victory within three days in Mumbai.

This Is Shocking - Atul Wassan

Speaking to ANI after the loss, Atul Wassan said that the Indian team used to face whitewash in challenging overseas tours, like Australia and the West Indies. However, Wassan said that he never dreamt such a setback could happen at home, saying it was beyond even his "wildest nightmares."

"When we used to go to Australia and West Indies, it used to happen. But this is shocking. I would have never dreamt of this even in my wildest nightmares," Wassan told ANI.

#WATCH | On New Zealand's clean sweep three-match series 3-0 against India, Former Indian Cricketer Atul Wassan says, "This is shocking. I would not have dreamt of this in my wildest nightmare. I never thought that this would happen...This New Zealand team just lost in Sri Lanka… pic.twitter.com/vQcP55wo6w

— ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2024

After That We Faced Some Misconception - Atul Wassan

Atul Wassan said that India became overconfident after their victory in just 1.5 days against Bangladesh in Kanpur. He said that India had underestimated New Zealand and added that India should learn from this series defeat.

"Because two series back we had started to talk about Australia. In cricket, when you start to crossing the bridge before reaching it, it bites you. This New Zealand team had just lost in Sri Lanka (by 2-0). This time they did not have Kane Williamson."

"But despite this, their spinners were better than us and their batters applied themselves to these alien conditions despite growing up playing on seamy, green wickets. India should learn from this. Complacency, overconfidence (the reason). When we won that Test against Bangladesh in 1.5 days, after that we faced some misconception," Wassan further stated.

There Needs To Be Some Introspection - Atul Wassan

The 56-year-old warned that India might need to forget about winning another series in Australia. Wassan said that responsibility for the loss falls on the entire leadership team, including the coaches, the captain, and senior players. He added that India’s spinners were outperformed by New Zealand’s.

"This needs to be a collective responsibility of the leadership group and the team management, starting from the coach, captain and seniors. You cannot place the blame on youngsters and bowlers. If we still lose despite having Ashwin and Jadeja and their spinners outdo us, there needs to be some introspection. Beating Australia in Australia, forget about it. Australia is solid right now. But here you are in overconfidence," he added.

Chasing a target of 147 runs, India lost five wickets for just 29 runs. Rishabh Pant scored 64 runs off 57 balls, including nine fours and a six. However, India was bowled out for 121 runs after Pant's dismissal.

Ajaz Patel was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand, taking six wickets for 57 runs. Glenn Phillips took three wickets for 42 runs. New Zealand earlier secured wins in Bengaluru and Pune against India.

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