"You have 3 No. 11s" - Aakash Chopra on India's batting collapses in ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test
Former India player Aakash Chopra has picked the Indian team's batting collapses as the primary reason for their defeat in the first Test against England. He highlighted that the visitors had three No. 11 batters in their playing XI.
England beat India by five wickets in Leeds on Tuesday, June 24. The Shubman Gill-led side lost seven wickets for 41 runs in their first innings and six wickets for 31 runs in their second innings.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener noted that the visitors suffered collapses in both innings and opined that it would continue to happen if Jasprit Bumrah is part of the playing XI and Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna are the other two specialist seamers.
"The number one reason will be the kind of collapses that happened. The difference is that their tail wags. When it happened like that in the first innings, you felt it might be better in the second innings, but it was exactly the same in the second innings as well. You were in a very strong position and were thinking of declaration, but one wicket, and you lost everything," Chopra said (1:30).
"This has not happened once but repeatedly, and I feel it will keep happening. It will be a point of discussion and a cause for concern. I am saying that because if Bumrah is playing, Siraj and Prasidh Krishna play with him, you have three No. 11s batting from Nos. 9 to 11," he added.
Aakash Chopra pointed out that India could have managed with three No. 11 batters had Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja contributed with the bat. He added that the two all-rounders' inability to do so meant the lower order fell like a house of cards.
"You won't say that the pitch was dangerous" - Aakash Chopra on India's misfiring lower order
![Prasidh Krishna scored one run across his two innings in the Headingley Test. [P/C: Getty]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/06/1416a-17508261748589-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that India cannot blame the pitch for their batting collapses.
"The truth is that it happened twice in a match where the pitch was getting flatter constantly. You won't say that the pitch was dangerous, where the ball was like a spitting cobra if we talk about spin, or it was seaming, where the bat wasn't striking the ball. It wasn't the case here," he said (3:05).
While acknowledging that collapses can happen, the cricketer-turned-commentator added that it cannot be as drastic as what happened in Leeds.
"The truth is that you lost the initiative and the game in good batting conditions and from a good situation. Collapses can happen, but you cannot lose seven wickets for 40 runs or six wickets for 35 runs. You need to score at least 100-110 runs while losing six wickets, even if your Nos. 8 to 11 are among them," he observed.
Citing Mitchell Starc's example from the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final, Aakash Chopra highlighted that the No. 8 and No. 9 batters score runs in all teams. However, the analyst reckoned that the scenario is unlikely to change radically for India, considering their current setup.