"It's become a new story" - Aakash Chopra on Indian Test players' Ranji Trophy failures

Former cricketer Aakash Chopra has noted that the Indian Test players' failures in the ongoing round of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 have become the new talking point. He highlighted Mumbai's struggles against Jammu and Kashmir despite having many international players in their lineup.

Australia beat India 3-1 in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, with the visitors particularly struggling in the batting department. Most Indian Test players who plied their trade in the ongoing round of the Ranji Trophy did not have a good run in the first two days.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener pointed out that virtually every Test player has had a disastrous run in the current round of the Ranji Trophy.

"The match was happening very close to my home. You might be thinking what am I talking about. I am talking about the Mumbai vs J&K match, and at the time of recording, Mumbai are struggling and how. The team has Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube and Shardul Thakur," he said (0:10).

"They are a powerhouse, and J&K have jolted them in both innings. Everyone went to play in the Ranji Trophy, it's only about Mumbai, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, and Rajat Patidar were playing, it was a long list, but whoever played, got out. It's incredible. Runs aren't being scored in the Ranji Trophy. It's become a new story," Chopra added.

Rohit Sharma (3 and 28) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (4 and 26) didn't make significant contributions in Mumbai's ongoing clash against J&K. While Rishabh Pant aggregated 18 runs across his two innings for Delhi against Saurashtra, Shubman Gill was dismissed for four in Punjab's first innings against Karnataka.

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"Your Test form has nothing to do with it" - Aakash Chopra on the Indian Test players' Ranji Trophy performance

India will play their next Test against England in June. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra opined that the Indian players' performance in the Ranji Trophy won't impact their Test form.

"The truth is that whether you score runs or not, it won't make a difference to your career or Test form. The second part was probably more important than the first, that your Test form has nothing to do with it, as the next Test match is after five months," he reasoned (1:50).

However, the cricketer-turned-commentator acknowledged that the Test stars needed to perform in these matches, which virtually everyone, barring Ravindra Jadeja (12 wickets and 38 runs), failed to do.

"However, you need to score runs and take wickets. That's what Ravindra Jadeja has done. He has done an incredible job. He scored runs and picked up wickets, but the others haven't. I saw Rohit's visuals from both the first and second innings. Didn't look very good. Yashasvi Jaiswal also got out in both innings," Chopra elaborated.

Chopra added that Shardul Thakur (51 and 113*), who hasn't played for India lately, was the other international player to excel in the first two days of the ongoing Ranji Trophy matches.

"Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube too got out. Shardul scored a fifty in the first innings and was batting in the second innings at the time of recording. Shubman's team got out for 55. Rishabh Pant has gotten out in both innings," he observed.

However, Aakash Chopra urged the fans not to troll the players for their below-par performances. He highlighted that the players' best efforts don't always yield the desired results.