Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra believes catching is one of India’s major concerns before the semi-final against England. India was once again sloppy in the field against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday.
Abhishek Sharma dropped two catches, whereas Tilak Varma could not hang on to a difficult chance. Roston Chase was given a reprieve when he was on 14 by Sharma whereas Rovman Powell also received a second chance when he was on 27 by the same fielder.
Chase’s drop catch went on to hurt India as the West Indies opener scored 40 runs off just 25 balls. Chopra highlighted that India has dropped 13 catches in the ongoing tournament.
“The Indian team has to correct one thing, and that must be corrected. That is our catching. What catching are we doing? We have dropped 13 catches. We are second from the bottom in catching efficiency,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“Everyone else is ahead of us. The West Indies, for whom Jason Holder dropped a catch, are ahead of us. Even Pakistan are ahead of us. Only Australia are behind us. We are talking about the teams ranked in the top 10,” he added.
The renowned commentator noted that India has been really poor with their catching.
“India has been really, really poor. It probably hasn’t proved that costly thus far. Abhishek dropped two catches. We dropped 12 catches in the Asia Cup and have already dropped 13 here,” he elaborated.
The former Delhi cricketer said if India keeps dropping catches like these, it will prove costly one day.
“If we keep dropping catches like this, it will prove costly someday. It hasn’t proved costly thus far, so we can brush it under the carpet and say it doesn’t make a difference, as we have a very good team. We have a very good team, but if there is any weakness, it needs to be addressed. We have to hold onto catches,” he said.
On the other hand, the former KKR batter recalled that Abhishek Sharma had scored a blistering century against England at Wankhede Stadium in 2025.
“So that is a huge red flag, if we have to beat England at the Wankhede Stadium, and this was the ground where Abhishek Sharma got his form. The 135-run knock he played, he became a superstar here only because Mumbai creates superstars. That is where he lived that dream. So Abhishek Sharma returning to form is important, and us taking all the catches is extremely important,” Chopra observed.
India will take on England in the second semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Thursday.
