Ashes 2025/26: Aakash Chopra criticizes Perth's pitch after 19 wickets fall on Day 1

Overview

• A whopping 19 wickets fell on the first day of the Ashes 2025/26 between Australia and England
• Aakash Chopra took to X and criticised the pitch and even questioned the hypocrisy of selective criticism
• He wondered why only subcontinent pitches get criticism, compared to the surfaces elsewhere in Tests

A whopping 19 wickets fell on the first day of the Ashes 2025/26 between Australia and England. Aakash Chopra took to X and criticised the pitch and even questioned the hypocrisy of selective criticism. He wondered why only subcontinent pitches get criticism, compared to the surfaces elsewhere in Tests.

When Australia's sixth wicket fell, which was the 16th of the day, Aakash took to X and questioned, "16 wickets already on day 1. Haven’t seen much of today’s #AusvEng. Since England won the toss and batted, is it fair to assume that it’s a decent pitch to bat? Unplayable bowling? Poor batting? What’s your assessment, Cricket Twitter/X?"

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As three more wickets fell before the stumps, the former Indian cricketer posted another tweet on X. He then wondered why pitches that lead to a lot of wickets on a day get heavy criticism, while nothing as such was spoken about the case in the Ashes Test.

"Make that 19 wickets 🫣😶 Such an ‘outcome’ on a subcontinental pitch would’ve meant the death of Test cricket. 🤣😂Peak hypocrisy?? Again, maintaining that I’m only following the score…haven’t watched the game. That’s why I used the word ‘outcome’. 
#Ashes2025 #AusvEng," Aakash wrote on X.

"What does it say about the batting standard?" - Aakash Chopra

His tweets received good support from the fans. As some did not agree with what he had to say and rather claimed it was bad batting from both England and Australia, Chopra questioned the standard of batting in modern-day cricket.

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"And if it’s NOT the pitch…what does it say about the batting standard on display? Disclaimer: I’m depending on Cricket Twitter/X to give an informed opinion on the conditions/cricket," Aakash wrote in one of his tweets.