'It's a joke' - Rohit Sharma rubbishes 'complacency' claim after Sri Lanka drubbing

India suffered a crushing defeat on Wednesday in the third and final ODI against Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, losing the series 2-0.

This became Sri Lanka's first bilateral series victory against India since 1997, ending a 27-year drought. Skipper Rohit Sharma opened up about the series defeat and dismissed the complacency claims taking them as a joke.

In the post-match presentation, when questioned about possible complacency within the team, he rubbished the claim as a "joke" and instead credited the opposition for playing better cricket than India.

“It's a joke. When you are playing for India there is never going to be complacency. As long as I'm here, that's not going to be the case. But you have to give credit to good cricket. Sri Lanka played better than us," he said. 

The Indian captain also addressed the team's struggles against spin and feels the squad needs to look at it more severely. He also spoke about the hosts putting them under relentless pressure throughout the series. 

"I don't think it's a concern, but it's something we need to look at seriously our individual game plans and it's something (that) we were definitely put under pressure within this series,” Rohit added.

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Series loss doesn't mean the end of the world: Rohit Sharma

The hosts won the toss for the third consecutive time and opted to bat first. The side posted a challenging total of 248/7 in their allotted 50 overs. India made two significant changes to their lineup, with Rishabh Pant returning to ODIs after a 21-month gap and Riyan Parag making his 50-over debut.

Sri Lanka's innings was built on two substantial partnerships, but Parag's crucial interventions, including the dismissal of Avishka Fernando for 96, halted their momentum. Parag emerged as the standout bowler, claiming three wickets.

India's chase began promisingly with Rohit's aggressive start, but the visitors faced a middle-order collapse. The Indian batters struggled against Sri Lanka's spin attack, resulting in a 110-run defeat.

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For Rohit, the series defeat is not the end of the world but a learning curve as the 37-year-old said he hopeful for the team's comeback.

"Series loss doesn't mean the end of the world. These guys have been playing very well over the past few years; very consistent. You will lose the odd series. We lost the series and I feel there are a lot of areas we need to look at rather than the positives. We need to go back and look at what we need to do when we come up against conditions like this,” he concluded.