India vs New Zealand: Shocked by the Indian team being whitewashed 0-3 by New Zealand in the three-match test series, former greats like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and Harbhajan Singh called for 'introspection' and urged the team to stop 'unnecessary experiments' in test format and start playing on better pitches. India had to face a whitewash defeat in at least a three-match series at home for the first time after suffering a 25-run defeat in the third test against the New Zealand team, which arrived here after a 0-2 defeat to Sri Lanka.

Tendulkar wrote on 'X', "The 0-3 loss in the home series is difficult to digest and the team needs introspection. Was it the lack of preparation, was it poor shot selection or was it the lack of match practice?" Chasing 147 runs to win, the Indian team was all out for 121 runs in just 29.1 overs. In the second innings, only Rishabh Pant (64) could do something amazing with the bat. He had also scored a half-century in the first innings and made a brilliant partnership with Shubman Gill (90) to take the team out of a difficult situation.

Sachin and Sehwag spoke about introspection.

Tendulkar said, "Shubman Gill showed passion in the first innings and Pant was brilliant in both the innings. Even the challenging pitch looked easy for batting in front of their brilliant footwork." Sehwag, advising the Indian batsmen to raise their level of play against the spinners, wrote on Instagram, "It is mandatory for me as a supporter to support the team but this has been a very poor performance of our team. Certainly, there is a need to improve the skill of playing spin. Some experiments look good in the shorter format but their unnecessary experimentation in Test cricket was really bad.''

This former aggressive batsman said, "Congratulations to Tom Latham and the New Zealand team for doing what is a dream for every team coming to India, and no one else has been able to win like this." The failure of Indian batsmen to play spin can be gauged from the fact that New Zealand spinners took 37 out of 57 wickets in the series, that too when the first Test was played on a pitch favorable to fast bowlers.

Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner took 13 wickets in the second Test in Pune while Ajaz Patel took 11 wickets in the third Test in Mumbai.

Harbhajan Singh also raised questions.

Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said that on such pitches "anyone can get anyone out" and teams don't need legends like Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, or Saqlain Mushtaq to take wickets. "Turning pitches are becoming your own enemy. Congratulations New Zealand you have outplayed us. I have been saying for many years that Team India needs to play on better pitches. These turning pitches make every batsman look very ordinary," Harbhajan wrote on Instagram.

He said, "Batsmen of previous generations never played on such pitches. These pitches are prepared for two- to three-day Test matches. You do not need Murali, Warne, or Saqlain on these pitches to get teams out. Anyone can get anyone out."

Irfan Pathan also reacted.

Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan wrote on social media, "Just yesterday I had a discussion with brother Yusuf on this issue. He said about domestic cricket that we are either playing on grass pitches or on flat tracks. We have almost stopped playing on spinner-friendly pitches in domestic matches. Along with this, our top players are not playing domestic cricket. This can harm us in the long run.''

Michael Vaughan praised the Kiwis.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan wrote, "Winning in India is unbelievable but a clean sweep is remarkable. This will be the greatest Test series win ever. India now has a group of batsmen who struggle against spin like most teams."

Former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop wrote, "Amazing victory by New Zealand. A country with a population of less than 6 million. They have achieved an incredible victory without the legendary Kane Williamson. The last few weeks have been historic and proud for both the men's and women's (T20 World Cup champions) teams."