Rohit Sharma dismisses complacency claims after ODI series loss to Sri Lanka

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After India's ODI series loss to Sri Lanka, Rohit Sharma dismissed claims of complacency during the tour.

India had drawn the first match, lost the second, and were outplayed in the final fixture, marking their first bilateral ODI series defeat to Sri Lanka in 27 years.

When asked during the presentation ceremony if complacency had been an issue, especially after their recent T20 World Cup win and strong performance against Sri Lanka in the T20I series, Sharma was quick to refute this.

"When you're playing for India, there's no complacency. We have to give credit where credit is due, Sri Lanka played better than us," he said. "We looked at the conditions, wanted to take pace off the ball, and that's why we went with our combination.

"All in all we didn't play good cricket through the series, and that is why we stand here. Throughout there were a few positives too. How the spinners bowled, some of the batters in the middle as well. We lost the series, and I feel there are a lot of areas we need to look at rather than the positives."

Sharma attributed the loss to their inability to effectively counter the Sri Lankan spinners on turning pitches.

He emphasized the need for bravery and aggression when facing bowlers in such conditions, noting that India fell short in this regard throughout the series

"It is important to take on the bowlers on such pitches, where the ball is turning and it is tough to score. It is important to be a bit brave. I don't think we were brave enough throughout the series to put them under a little bit of pressure. That's why we were a bit left lagging behind slightly," he said.

"We all know where we are erring, what we need to improve on. Individually, we have spoken to a lot of players on this topic, that they will get a lot more opportunities to play spin in these conditions," he said. "On these wickets, where the pitch is slow, where some balls are turning and some are not, you have to go in with a gameplan.

"At the same time, you also need to play your shots. If you think you will defend all six balls, it may not be possible on such a pitch. All in all, as far as the team is concerned, and how I look at it, we need to admit where we have made mistakes, we didn't dominate against spin. On such wickets, you need to dominate a bit and the Sri Lankan spinners had consistently kept us under pressure in all three games.

"Somewhere, we need to think about what we can do, which players should be given opportunities on such wickets. However, when you're playing on such challenging pitches, it is also important to have consistency in your team selection. If you give players only one or two opportunities, it isn't easy for them to manage such situations. We tried. We even wanted to try out a few players. It has been a poor series for us, we accept it. We didn't play good cricket and that's why we have the result that we have today."

India will next face Bangladesh in a two-match Test series in Chennai and Kanpur in September.