India should admit they can't play spin: Aakash Chopra

Former India batter Aakash Chopra wants everyone to admit that most of the current Indian batters can’t play spin on even slightly challenging surfaces. The 47-year-old said Indian batters can only tackle spin of flat surfaces, which anyone can do. 

After losing the first Test in Bengaluru, India opted for spinning surfaces against New Zealand in the final two games in Pune and Mumbai. In the four innings, India’s total read 156, 245, 263 and 121, respectively. The hosts even failed to chase down a target of 147 in the final Test in Mumbai. Overall, India lost 34 wickets to spin in these two Tests.

In the three-match Test series, Rishabh Pant (66) and Washington Sundar (44.5) were the only two Indian batters to average more than 30 against spin. The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal (25.6), Shubman Gill (29.5) and Sarfaraz Khan (23.5) did get some runs but failed to dominate spin on a longer basis. And when it comes to playing spin, we all know how terrible Virat Kohli (16.75) and skipper Rohit Sharma (10.5) have been of late.

"Now it feels like we should admit that we can't play spin. Let's be very, very honest, let's not beat around the bush. On flat tracks, we can [play spin], but everybody can on a flat track. The only difference is that we play spin better than other teams on flat tracks and bowl better as well because our spinners have quality,” said Chopra on his YouTube channel.

"So we win the quality vs quality battle. But if the track offers spin ever so slightly, then whether it is the Pune or the Wankhede in Mumbai [we fall short]...The New Zealand batters haven't struck as a unit. Daryl Mitchell played one innings of note, similarly Tom Latham, Rachin Ravindra... Still, they played spin better than us. Let's be absolutely honest.

"Neither we have confidence in spin, nor we have control on our shots. We are trying to find a shot when it's not there, trying sweeps, practicing it before the start of play every morning. But it's like learning a new language, my friend. If you don't know a language, it takes a lot of time to learn it.”

Also read: "There’s something seriously wrong" - Anil Kumble on India's batting vs spin

Kohli, in particular, has been terrible against spin for quite a while. In home Tests since 2020, the right-hander has an average of 28.29 against spin, clearly one of the worst among top-order batters. If we look at this year, Kohli is averaging just 23.33 against spin in home Tests. Even Rohit’s average has dropped to 8.25 vs spin in the last five Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand.

The two senior batters had a chance to play in the Duleep Trophy before the start of the home season but decided against it due to a “lack of motivation” to play domestic cricket. Rohit last played a domestic first-class match in 2016, while Kohli hasn’t played domestic cricket since 2012.

"Why we can't? Because we don't play domestic cricket. When we focus more on white-ball cricket, then that habit of playing on turning pitches vanishes. We don't even remember when our main players last appeared in a first-class domestic match. So where are you going to practice?

"You play international cricket, which is okay; but international cricket is played on good tracks 9 out of 10 times. When it happens on bad tracks, then you get caught. It's happening again and again," Chopra concluded.

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