‘Dropping catches with this consistency might prove costly’- Aakash Chopra wants India to work on this aspect before the T20 World Cup semis

Ahead of their T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final against England, former India player Aakash Chopra has made it clear that catching is a major issue for the Men in Blue.

He noted that among the top cricketing nations, India has outperformed only Australia in terms of catching efficiency in the current world tournament.

On Sunday, March 1, India advanced to the semi-final match against England in Mumbai after defeating the West Indies by five wickets in the last Super Eight stage match of the T20 World Cup 2026 in Kolkata. The co-hosts held the Windies to 195/4 and reached the goal with four balls remaining, despite a few catches being grassed.

"The Indian team has to correct one thing, and that must be corrected. That is our catching. What catching are we doing? We have dropped 13 catches. We are second from the bottom in catching efficiency. Everyone else is ahead of us. The West Indies, for whom Jason Holder dropped a catch, are ahead of us. Even Pakistan is ahead of us. Only Australia is behind us. We are talking about the teams ranked in the top 10," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

Chopra noted that India has been missing a lot of catches lately, with Abhishek Sharma missing two chances during Sunday's match.

"India has been really, really poor. It probably hasn't proved that costly thus far. Abhishek dropped two catches. We dropped 12 catches in the Asia Cup and have already dropped 13 here," he elaborated.

Abhishek Sharma dropped Roston Chase and Rovman Powell, while Tilak Varma dropped a very difficult catch of Sherfane Rutherford at the boundary.

Aakash Chopra further warned India that their notorious catch-dropping consistency might harm them in the upcoming semi-final game, which will be a knockout for both teams.

"If we keep dropping catches like this, it will prove costly someday. It hasn't proved costly thus far, so we can brush it under the carpet and say it doesn't make a difference, as we have a very good team. We have a very good team, but if there is any weakness, it needs to be addressed. We have to hold onto catches," he said.

He also hoped Abhishek Sharma returns to form when India faces England in Mumbai, highlighting that the left-handed opener had scored a blazing century against the same opponents and at the same stadium last year.

"So that is a huge red flag if we have to beat England at the Wankhede Stadium, and this was the ground where Abhishek Sharma got his form. With the 135-run knock he played, he became a superstar here only because Mumbai creates superstars. That is where he lived that dream. So Abhishek Sharma returning to form is important, and us taking all the catches is extremely important," Chopra observed.

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