‘Score Almost Equal to Tom Hartley’, ‘Wanted to Break Jail’: Aakash Chopra’s Scathing Remark on Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow After Indian Rampage – News18

Team India routed England in a 4-1 series win as the visitors surrendered the tour despite having won the opening game.

England skipper Ben Stokes who made a half-century in the first game did not go on to capitalise on the good start he had to the tour as he repeatedly failed to make a landmark score in the remainder of the series.

The English media had drawn comparisons between Stokes and legendary all-rounder Ian Botham, which did not sit well with former Indian player Aakash Chopra.

Chopra pointed out Stoke’s total in the season was close to debutant bowler Tom Hartley in a scathing remark.

“The England media is saying that Ben Stokes is at par with Ian Botham as an all-rounder. I am saying the truth is that he has been extremely disappointing as a batter in this entire series. Despite scoring 70 runs in the first match, his and Tom Hartley’s runs are almost equal,” Chopra said.

Another veteran batter who underperformed in the series was Jonny Bairstow, who managed to make just under 240 runs in 10 innings at a subpar average of 23.80.

Bairstow couldn’t find his rhythm as the Indian bowling unit kept puzzling the Englishman, who kept moving around at the crease. Chopra expressed that it was a lack of confidence on Bairstow’s part and added that he felt rather uneasy at the crease.

“Jonny Bairstow doesn’t play while standing in his position because he doesn’t have the confidence to do that. He is not reading the ball from the hand and the big shots are a cop-out. Whenever you saw Jonny Bairstow play, you felt like he wanted to break jail and escape,” the former Indian player said.

India lost the opening game at Hyderabad but went on to seal the series with thumping wins as Vishakapatham, Ranchi, Rajkot and Dharamshala to consolidate their position at the top of the ICC World Test Championships table for the 2023-25 cycle.