"When the poor guy drops catches, he drops many" - Aakash Chopra criticizes India's fielding in ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

Former India player Aakash Chopra has picked dropped catches as one of the main reasons for the Indian team's defeat in the first Test against England. He noted that Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is generally a good fielder, puts down many catches on his bad day.

India suffered a five-wicket loss to England in the first Test in Leeds on Tuesday, June 24. The visitors grassed five catches in the first innings and two in the second, including some difficult ones, to let the hosts off the hook.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener opined that dropped catches potentially cost Shubman Gill and company the game, highlighting that Jaiswal, who is being criticized a lot, tends to drop a plethora of catches once he puts down one.

"Catches win matches. It will always be the case, but hold the catches at least. We dropped so many catches. We could have easily seized the initiative in the first innings, but we couldn't do that, and it was because we aren't grabbing catches at all. (Jasprit) Bumrah kept getting edges and catches were being dropped. In the end, it seemed like even hope was lost," Chopra said (4:00).

"It's bizarre because Yashasvi Jaiswal is being criticized a lot currently, but he used to catch decently. He is not a bad fielder, but either the confidence has gone down or something else has happened, because when the poor guy drops catches, he drops many. We saw that in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as well," he added.

Aakash Chopra pointed out that Yashasvi Jaiswal wasn't the only one to drop catches, with even Ravindra Jadeja putting down a relatively easy chance in England's first innings. He added that the ace fielder dropping catches is a huge concern, as he rarely does so.

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"Try to understand its cascading effect" - Aakash Chopra on the repercussions of India's dropped catches in ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

Rishabh Pant dropped Harry Brook in England's first innings. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that dropped catches implied that India didn't get a big lead, with their bowlers also bowling extra overs in the first innings.

"Try to understand its cascading effect. If we had taken catches in the first innings, the lead would have been 125 to 150 runs. If you had been ahead by 150 runs, it would have meant that Bumrah and the remaining bowlers wouldn't have bowled too much in the first innings," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that India could have set England a much bigger target in the final innings and that their bowlers would also have been relatively less tired.

"Then you would have given a target of 450 and not 350 in the fourth innings, and you would have had fresher bowlers. So it's a double whammy. You got a six-run lead because you dropped catches, and then when it's the turn for the bowlers, they come with so much workload that they don't have enough to offer again," Chopra observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Harry Brook's dismissal to a Jasprit Bumrah no-ball in the first innings also proved very costly for India. The England batter hadn't opened his account and went on to score 99 runs.