Aakash Chopra wants Ben Stokes to bat higher than No.6: Too good a batter to be batting ‘only' with the tail

Aakash Chopra wants Ben Stokes to bat higher than No.6: Too good a batter to be batting ‘only’ with the tail

Former cricketer Aakash Chopra has urged the England team management to promote Ben Stokes higher up the order. On Thursday, January 25, Stokes was arguably the standout batter for the Three Lions in the first Test against Rohit Sharma’s India at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

India vs England, 1st Test Day 1: Highlights

It was because of Stokes that England were able to score 246 in 64.3 overs after being reduced to 155 for 7 in 48.3 overs. Batting at No.6, the 32-year-old Stokes scored 70 runs off 88 balls with the help of 6 fours and 3 sixes.

Chopra said that the left-handed Stokes should bat higher than No.6 in the lineup since he is playing a specialist batter.

“Stokes has to bat higher than No. 6. Too good a batsman to be batting ‘only’ with the tail. Doesn’t bowl anymore in Tests…and there’s hardly any ‘pure’ batter batting at 6 in modern-day Test cricket. Either No. 6 is a keeper or an all-rounder,” Chopra wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Stokes guides England to respectability

Stokes came to bat after Axar Patel got the prized wicket of Jonny Bairstow. With the visiting team at 121 for the loss of 4 wickets, the onus was on Stokes to make sure that England got themselves up to a respectable score.

Stokes was circumspect early in his knock before pressing the accelerator to score his half-century off 69 balls. The southpaw was also involved in a partnership of 38 runs with debutant Tom Hartley, who also added 23 vital runs to England’s total.

Stokes eventually got out to Jasprit Bumrah, who got the ball to jag away from the batter. Bumrah also got the wicket of Rehan Ahmed, who made his return to the purest format after a gap of more than a year.

Amongst English batters, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Bairstow got starts, but none of them were able to get a big score under their belt. At Stumps on Day 1, India trailed by 127 runs with 9 wickets left in their first innings.

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