India began their home season with high expectations, especially after their dominant performances against Bangladesh. The hosts swept the Test series 2-0 and followed it up with a commanding 3-0 victory in the T20I series. With such success, it was only natural for India, led by Rohit Sharma, to be considered the overwhelming favourites heading into their next series against New Zealand.

Their remarkable record of consecutive Test series wins at home added to the confidence surrounding their chances. However, New Zealand defied all predictions and delivered what many have described as their greatest performance in recent times, shocking India by winning all three Tests in the series.

The Kiwis displayed exceptional seam and swing bowling in Bengaluru, followed by a dominating performance on spin-friendly tracks in Pune and Mumbai. This unexpected turnaround left India reeling and questioning what went wrong.

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Several factors were pointed out as reasons for India’s poor performance, including an overly aggressive approach from their batters and the impact of transitioning from T20 cricket. But Australian fast bowling legend Brett Lee offered another perspective: India’s failure to take New Zealand seriously enough.

In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Brett Lee suggested that India may have underestimated the Kiwis, expecting an easy series victory due to their dominance at home. “They went into the series thinking they’d just whitewash the Kiwis,” Lee said. “India are so powerful, so strong on home soil, but they didn’t give the Kiwis enough respect.”

Now, India faces a tough challenge against an Australian team eager to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, having suffered two consecutive Test series defeats to India on their home turf. Lee believes that despite India’s recent setback, they can learn from the experience and emerge stronger.

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“This is a great learning curve,” Brett Lee added. “India will be much better prepared now. They’ll come back stronger, with a renewed focus. They’ve had a wake-up call, and with their coach Gautam Gambhir, they’ll be looking to bounce back. It’s not the end for them. Every team faces setbacks, but now they have the chance to turn it into a positive and come out fighting.”