New Delhi: Former India spinner R Ashwin has raised concerns regarding the dressing room environment in India’s current ODI setup, arguing that the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are getting ‘insecure’ amid the constant debate around their future. Ashwin’s comments came after India suffered a 27-run defeat in the 3rd ODI against England at Lord’s to lose the three-match series 2-1.

Ashwin pointed out that the likes of Rohit, Kohli and KL Rahul were batting with a bit of ‘tentativeness’, suggesting they might not be in the right space to perform at the optimum level for the team. Ashwin made those remarks despite Rohit’s brilliant 138-run knock, which came in a losing cause as India failed to chase down the target of 388 runs in the 3rd ODI against England.

Ashwin, who has in the past spoken about how the Indian team management needs to make a firm decision regarding the future of Kohli and Rohit to ensure the senior batters feel complete trust of the team management, said the Hitman could have won the game for India if he was more confident. Ashwin hinted that Rohit’s confidence has taken a hit amid talks regarding his future for India in ODIs.

Reports recently claimed that Rohit has been informed by the Indian selectors that he is no longer a part of India’s plans for the 2027 ODI World Cup. The reports stated that the Lord’s ODI could be Rohit’s last for India. However, the senior batter responded in style with his brilliant 138-run knock under pressure.

“This is a phenomenal knock. The moment Rohit hit that strong pull shot against Josh Tongue, I knew his innings was set. I felt slightly that this was probably him being on his comeback path from injury. If he were in a slightly better state, if he were even a little more confident, he could have made 180 and won the match for the team,” Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel.

“I felt like Rohit was in really good form, really good form. But I’ll tell you two things: the wicket was tricky. [Then,] KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rohit — when all of them were playing, I felt a bit of tentativeness. You know tentativeness, right,” he added.

The former India spinner then made some hand gestures to explain the difference between how a confident batter operates and plays his shots compared to someone who is trying to play safe due to being worried about his spot in the side.

“If a player gets security, this won’t happen. That’s the difference,” Ashwin added.

While Rohit returned to his best with his 138-run knock after struggling for runs recently, Kohli scored 74 off 60 balls after initially finding it difficult to middle the ball. Rahul, on the other hand, was dismissed cheaply on 12 off 8 balls as India lost the third ODI by 27 runs.