"They went into the series thinking that we'll just whitewash the Kiwis"- Brett Lee feels India's complacency cost them NZ home Test series

Former Australian pacer Brett Lee feels Team India were complacent in their recent home Test series whitewash against New Zealand, resulting in an unfathomable 0-3 defeat. Rohit Sharma and company entered the series with 18 consecutive home Test series wins, starting from 2013.

However, the hosts succumbed to New Zealand's relentless bowling, scoring above 200 in only three out of the six innings. The Kiwis had only won two previous Test matches in India and none since 1988.

Talking about the stunning result on his YouTube channel, Lee was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times:

"Is it a T20 issue? Were the batsmen too attacking? Is it a skill issue? Is it a problem with them not taking the Kiwis too seriously? I think yes, on all formats. They went into the series thinking that we'll just whitewash the Kiwis, thinking that's going to be an easy series. And that's no disrespect to the Kiwis. It's just that India are so powerful, so strong on home soil," he said.

The series loss also jeopardized India's hopes of qualifying for a third consecutive World Test Championship (WTC) final.

They will have to defeat Australia in Australia by a 4-0 or better margin in the upcoming five-Test series to control their WTC final qualification destiny.

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"They would have got a kick up the backside from their coach, Gautam Gambhir" - Brett Lee

Gambhir has been heavily criticized for India's shocking defeat to New Zealand

Brett Lee believes the Indian players would have had a mouthful from head coach Gautam Gambhir after their shocking defeat to New Zealand at home.

The New Zealand series was Gambhir's second red-ball assignment as India's coach after the 2-0 home series win over Bangladesh.

"This is a great learning curve for all out there. Probably not for Aussies because now they've got to understand that India will be much-better prepared. They are going to come in strong. They would have got a kick up the backside from their coach, Gautam Gambhir," Lee said in the same interaction.

"This is atrocious, the way they played but they are still a team of champions. They have had a downfall over the last couple of weeks; it does happen in cricket. But this is the time to turn it into positives. The Kiwis caught India off-guard," he added.

It was the first time India suffered a Test series whitewash at home since 2000 (against South Africa). The Men in Blue will look to bounce back in the Australia series, starting in Perth on November 22.