A stonewaller at the top and one of the greatest short-leg fielders India have produced, Aakash Chopra played 10 Tests between October 2003 and October 2004. He took 15 catches, some of them exceptional, while his 437 runs came at 23, but to his credit he hung around for 66 balls every time he batted under challenging circumstances.
Not that he complained, for he had to drop anchor as the swashbuckling Delhi batsmen went about bludgeoning the bowlers. He opened with his Delhi mate Virender Sehwag 11 times away from home — in Australia in 2003-04 and in Pakistan in 2004 — averaging 58 per dismissal. In Australia their 8 stands got them 459 runs at 57.
He started well, crossing 30 in each of his first 5 innings, and though he got only 2 fifties, there were 4 other scores in excess of 40. His axing came abruptly, when India decided to push Yuvraj Singh to the top despite Chopra’s gutsy performances.
Chopra had risen through the Under-19 ranks, and once in the Delhi team he found runs quickly, amassing 554 in his first season at 69. He topped the 900-run mark in the domestic seasons of 2000-01 and 2001-02, both at averages in excess of 60. Unfortunately, an anterior cruciate ligament delayed his Test debut in 2002-03.
He never played after 2003-04, but he suddenly found form four seasons later, when he scored 1,339 runs in four-day cricket and slammed three unbeaten quickfire hundreds in Vijay Hazare Trophy. So belligerent were his innings that he earned an IPL contract with Kolkata Knight Riders. But despite India’s opening problems he was left out of the squad for the 2007-08 tour to Australia as Sehwag was called up out of nowhere.
Chopra later moved to Rajasthan, and played a key role in them their first two Ranji titles — that too in consecutive seasons, starting from the Plate Group in the first season. This also included 301 not out against Maharashtra — a marathon spread over 13-and-a-half hours. He also played for Himachal Pradesh, and finished with 10,389 First-Class runs at 45.
He later became a popular columnist and commentator. His two books — Beyond the Blues: A First-Class Season Like No Other and Out of the Blue: Rajasthan’s Road to the Ranji Trophy are the greatest books written by Indian Test cricketers.
Abhishek Mukherjee
Career | M | In | R | NO | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
Test | 10 | 19 | 437 | 0 | 60 | 23.00 | 1263 | 34.60 | 0 | 2 | 49 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
ODIs | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
T20s | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
World Cup | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Career | M | B | R | W | Avg | EC | SR | 5WI | 10WM | BBI | BBM |
Test | 10 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
ODIs | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
T20s | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
World Cup | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Test Debut
India v New Zealand at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad, October 8, 2003
Last Test
India v Australia at Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur, October 26, 2004
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra feels Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul should have put the pedal to the metal after the dismissal of ...
Chopra felt the death overs bowling has been a big problem for KKR as most of their bowlers are new-ball specialists.
Aakash Chopra, who is a cricketer-turned-commentator, posted a video on his Facebook profile and talked about the upcoming edition of ...
Former India batsmen Laxman and Chopra lavished praise on Ashwin, saying he is one of the biggest match-winners the country has ever ...
Chopra believes SRH has a near-complete squad and according to him, this would be the first time that a team needs fewer players than ...
He also slammed the ICC for not having England wicketkeeper-batsman in the star-studded XI.
CricketCountry speaks to Dean Jones, Sanjay Manjrekar and Aakash Chopra while trying to assess the situation regarding Test one-downs.
Aakash Chopra opened batting for India, was outstanding at bat-pad, and is an excellent cricket writer.
Australia could not get Virender Sehwag out that day. He had to do it himself.
Chopra was talking with CricketCountry on the sidelines of the release of his recent book, 'The Insider'.
Aakash Chopra has provided a huge boost for the younger
The crushing defeat at the hands of the Australians was soon correlated with MS Dhoni’s move of keeping Virender Sehwag out of ...
Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh - 1st Test
Sri Lanka
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Malaysia
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Zimbabwe
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Punjab Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - Match 14
Punjab Kings
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Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings - Match 15
Kolkata Knight Riders
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Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh - 2nd Test
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Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
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MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
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Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
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Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
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Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
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Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
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Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
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Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
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Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
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Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
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Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
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Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
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Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
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MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
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