Rohit Sharma drops bold 'it's a joke' remark on India being complacent in Sri Lanka ODIs after awful loss

The final match of the India tour of Sri Lanka 2024 was played on Wednesday, August 7, at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. It was an ODI game between Rohit Sharma-led side and Charith Asalanka & Co.

For the first time, the Men In Blue entered into a match looking in slight trouble as they had already tied the first game and lost the second one. It was a casual approach with the ball and a poor batting show in the first two matches that led to the downfall of the Indian team.

In the first ODI, the Indian bowlers had Sri Lanka down at 101/5, but they didn't go for the kill and allowed Lankan Lions to play entire 50 overs, who then posted 230 for 8 on the board, which looked like a good total considering the conditions on the offer.

Rohit Sharma started off the chase like a beast and smoked a terrific half-century. However, after his dismissal, the Indian innings got slow and they struggled to get going. India lost wickets at regular intervals and got bundled out for 230, resulting in a tie.

In the second ODI, the Indian bowlers yet again let the hosts play 50 overs, which saw them scoring 240 runs at the loss of 9 wickets. The chase began on a high for the visiting team with skipper Rohit Sharma leading from the front.

However, just like the first game, he didn't receive much support from the other batters, who were struggling against Jeffrey Vandersay, and the Indian team were eventually bundled out for 208, losing by 32 runs.

Sri Lanka played better than us - Rohit Sharma

Talking about the 3rd ODI, India once again lost the toss and they were invited to bowl first. The Indian bowling unit did a terrible job and weren't able to get an early breakthrough. They got the first wicket at the score of 89, and then the second one came at the score of 171. After that, they made run-scoring slow but let Sri Lanka score 248 runs for 7, which wasn't easy to chase.

Things got even more difficult for India in the second innings as they lost Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma early. Soon, Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli were back in the pavilion, and after losing wickets at regular intervals, the Men In Blue got all-out for 138, losing by 110 runs.

Speaking after the match, Rohit Sharma stated that Indian batters don't have any major concerns against spin bowling. He said:

"I don't think it is a concern (spin problems). But it is something we have to look at individually and as a gameplan."

When asked if India got complacent after the T20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma responded by calling it a joke and added that under his leadership there will never be complacency in the Indian team. Rohit Sharma elaborated:

"No. It is a joke, when you are playing for India there is never going to be complacency. When I am captain there is no chance of that. But you have to give credit to good cricket. Sri Lanka played better than us. We looked at the conditions and went with the combinations, there are also guys who need to be looked at and hence the changes."

Rohit Sharma further said that they need to work on certain areas and bounce back strong. Rohit Sharma stated:

"There are a lot of areas we need to look at rather than the positives from this series because we need to be better prepared when we come across such conditions next time. These things happen, series loss is not the end of the world, you will lose an odd series here and there but it is about how you come back after the loss."