In my books, New Zealand won the series 5-0

Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin made a scathing remark about their series defeat against New Zealand. The Men in Blue lost the three-match ODI series 1-2.

Ashwin reckoned that New Zealand did not win the series 2-1, but their victory was as good as a clean sweep. Notably, India won the first game by a close margin of four wickets. After almost threatening to beat the hosts, the visitors pulled off a terrific comeback to clinch the series. Moreover, the Kiwis did not play with their full-strength side as they were missing several senior players in the squad.

With the T20 World Cup 2026 and the IPL approaching, Ashwin added that the ODI series would be forgotten if everything went well in the upcoming tournaments.

“Everything will be forgotten now. There is the T20 World Cup and the IPL now. So, how the environment will be there, things will go accordingly. We all know this. But if the T20 World Cup does not go well and people don’t perform in the IPL too, there will be pressure on them. But if everything goes well, this series will be forgotten. In my books, New Zealand won the series 5-0. They won two but threatened to win one more too so it was actually a sweep,” he said on ‘Ash ki Baat‘.

The two teams will now shift their focus to the T20Is. It will be a five-match series beginning on Wednesday, January 21.

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Ravichandran Ashwin feels Team India’s response was ‘flat’

Ravichandran Ashwin raised a few concerns after the series defeat. While he did not comment on the hosts’ readiness, he expressed that the loss had nothing to do with the quality of the team as such.

“I cannot answer if India were ready or not. Whether they were ready or not, it has to be relayed by Shubman Gill or Gautam or whoever it is. Is there anything lacking in preparation or something that can be done differently? I don’t know. But this series win for New Zealand is resounding. I thought if India even plays their B or C teams, they can beat sides. I am a little worried now that this has nothing to do with the quality of the team,” he said.

Further, he added that the hosts’ response was flat. He felt that the team did not respond as needed to the fact that opposition teams have started preparing better to take on India when they travel to the subcontinent. Ashwin reflected that the Men in Blue did not put New Zealand under enough pressure and played ‘soft cricket’.

“Looking from the outside, I think the Indian team’s response has been a bit flat. That response is not there. Always, the team, when they have been put under pressure, the Indian team has found ways in the past and has shown that habit. I just felt that the response felt flat and that was disappointing. I dont think we put them under pressure. We played very soft cricket.”

Shubman Gill and Co. failed to chase down a target of 338 runs in the final ODI. They were bowled out for 296 in 46 overs and fell short by 41 runs in the series decider.