There should be serious question mark over Jonny Bairstow: Aakash Chopra

Former India opener Aakash Chopra opined that there should be question marks over Jonny Bairstow, who has been in woeful form in the ongoing five-match Test series between India and England.

The experienced batter has scored just 102 runs in six innings at an average of 17 against India in the five-match series. In the third Test in Rajkot, Bairstow registered scores of 0 and 4 in the two innings. England won the first Test in Hyderabad before going down in Visakhapatnam and Rajkot. English fans will hope that the 34-year-old returns to form in the fourth Test, which gets underway on Friday, February 23, at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi.

Chopra recently said that there should be a serious question marks over Bairstow because he is not reading the ball from the hand and getting out playing bad shots.

“There should be a serious question mark over Jonny Bairstow because he is not batting well. He is not able to read the ball from the hand and gets out quite a few times playing bad shots,” said Chopra in a video posted on his official YouTube channel.

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Joe Root hasn't played a single good knock: Aakash Chopra

Another experienced batter and former captain, Joe Root, has also struggled in the series so far. In three matches, he has scored only 77 runs at an average of 12.83. He has also garnered criticism from former cricketers for his indifferent shot selection which has led to his dismissals.

Chopra acknowledged the fact that Root has scored close to 11,500 runs and knows his game the best. However, the cricketer-turned-commentator went on to say that the way he has been getting out playing rash shots is leaving a lot to be desired.

“In batting, it will be a problem if they are going to play 40 overs. Batting has let down majorly because Zak Crawley has played well throughout the series, Ben Duckett played one good knock, but Joe Root hasn't played a single good knock,” said Chopra.

“He is repeatedly saying that this is how he plays, that he gets out defending as well, so what difference does it make if he got out while playing a reverse sweep. He has scored nearly 11500 Test runs, so he knows better how to play, but the way he is getting out will obviously leave a lot to be desired,” Chopra added.

England have named their playing XI for the fourth Test on Thursday, February 22. Bairstow and Root are going to get another shot at redemption and team management will hope for an inspired performance from the veteran duo with the series being on the line.

Also read: IND vs ENG 2024: Ollie Robinson, Shoaib Bashir included in England XI for Ranchi Test