"If our performance against spin is going to be like this, our situation is going to be bad" - Aakash Chopra on Indian batters' recent struggles

Aakash Chopra feels India will continue to be in trouble in Test cricket going forward if they don't improve their batting against spin.

Rohit Sharma and Co. suffered a nine-wicket defeat against Australia in the third Test in Indore on Friday, March 3. They were bowled out for 109 and 163 in their two innings, with 18 of their 20 wickets falling against spin.

While reflecting on India's loss in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was disappointed with their batters' performance against spin, saying:

"The play against spin has become extremely bad. If our performance against spin is going to be like this, our situation is going to be bad. One thing is certain that if the opposition team is not able to play spin, we also don't play spin well."

The former opener added that the Indian batters' averages against spin have fallen drastically, observing:

"If we start from 2021, if we talk about the story of the last three years, you will find that we have been extremely ordinary. Everyone's average versus spin has come down to less than half."

Chopra pointed out that while Rohit Sharma has a decent average of slightly above 40, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara's averages are in the twenties.

"We play on such flat pitches" - Aakash Chopra on the reasons behind Indian batters' issues against spin

Cheteshwar Pujara was the only Indian batter to score a half-century in the Indore Test. [P/C: BCCI]

Chopra attributed the Indian batters' struggles against spin to an overdose of limited-overs cricket on flat surfaces, stating:

"Why are we not playing spin well? Because we play so much T20 and ODI cricket, we play on such flat pitches. On the same pitch, the openers had a 225-run partnership."

The reputed commentator pointed out that the Indian batters are not used to playing on turning tracks, explaining:

"We are scoring double-hundreds in ODIs and centuries in T20Is, we play daily in those conditions. So the batting becomes slightly difficult when the ball starts turning and staying low and we are not used to that difficulty."

One of the worst decisions is to send Bharat & Ashwin above Axar Patel in batting order. Especially when Axar has looked the best Indian batter against spin in this series.

Eventually he got much lesser balls to play & was left stranded.

#AxarPatel #CricketTwitter

Chopra concluded by praising Pujara for the resistance he provided in the second innings but added that it was never going to be enough. He also questioned the call to send Axar Patel at No. 9 in the second innings, saying the in-form all-rounder should have batted slightly up the order.