"I think it's about time": Anil Kumble criticizes Men in Blue following series loss to New Zealand

Legendary spinner and former India coach Anil Kumble has voiced strong criticism against Rohit Sharma's side following their 3-0 series defeat to New Zealand (NZ) on home soil. The final blow came in Mumbai, where India fell short by 25 runs as Ajaz Patel tore through the batting lineup on Sunday. Kumble emphasized the need for India to conduct a thorough self-assessment ahead of their challenging tour of Australia. He specifically targeted the underperforming top-order batters, highlighting their inability to survive even a single session as a significant concern.

"I think it's about time. If it was not even before the start of this Test match, it certainly something that India needs to respect and then, you know, understand what kind of surfaces you need to play on as well. You know, I think we spoke about it even in Pune before the start of the Test match itself. It was a spin to win. But it's certainly given New Zealand a chance to come out there and then do what they have done exceptionally well. I mean, kudos to them," Kumble said while speaking to Jio Cinema.

Kumble pointed out that the Indian batters seemed mentally affected by the turning nature of the pitch, which played a critical role in their downfall. Throughout the series, India struggled to compete against a dominant New Zealand side. In the first Test in Bengaluru, the Indian team was bowled out for a mere 46 runs by the Kiwi (NZ) seamers, leading to an easy victory for New Zealand. The second Test saw Mitchell Santner weaving a spin web around the Indian batters, while Ajaz Patel's 11-wicket haul in the third Test dismantled the Indian side.

"One team that has been really good travellers when they come to India has been the Kiwis. Everybody has a good soft word and nice word about the Kiwis. But this was a performance where, you know New Zealand dominated in the series. Yes, of course, the win was just by 25 runs. But the way they went about countering the pitches, the conditions, the bowling and that's what you know, you need to give credit to to New Zealand. Whereas India succumbed to all those that I mentioned," Kumble congratulated the Kiwis.

"I think the pitch got to the heads of the Indian batters...the top order not even batting a session throughout the series, except for that one partnership in Bangalore in the second innings. Other than that, you know in five innings to sort of just go through a batting line up, like the Indian batting line up in one session certainly says a lot about the approach, the attitude and of course, needs a lot of questioning and how you could come out of this," he added.

Following the third Test, India captain Rohit Sharma admitted to his mistakes both as a leader and a batter during the press conference. He acknowledged the uphill task that lies ahead for the team, which now needs to win all four Tests in Australia to secure a spot in the World Test Championship Final. (ANI)