Yashasvi Jaiswal Under Fire After Fielding Blunders in India’s Defeat at Headingley

England’s thumping five-wicket win over India at Headingley will be remembered for their fearless chase and Ben Duckett’s sparkling hundred — but also for an outing Yashasvi Jaiswal will desperately want to erase from memory.

India set a challenging target of 371, but England made light work of it, chasing it down with a staggering 84 balls to spare. However, much of the post-match chatter has centred not on England’s triumph, but Jaiswal’s nightmare in the slip cordon. The young left-hander dropped four catches in the second innings alone, setting an unwanted record for the most dropped chances by an Indian in a Test innings. Add the first innings drops to that tally, and the number climbs to six. The previous record stood with Ajinkya Rahane, who dropped three against Bangladesh in 2019. That now feels modest in comparison. 

What’s added fuel to the fire is a video doing the rounds on social media. In it, Jaiswal can be seen laughing and dancing shortly after spilling yet another chance — this time gifting Duckett another life just as he was closing in on his century. Fans, already frustrated by India’s sloppiness in the field, didn’t take kindly to the clip. While his first-innings century was a big boost at the time, the damage caused by his fielding mishaps far outweighed his batting contributions in the eyes of many fans and critics. One drop led to another, and with each miss, England edged closer to a famous victory. 

This blud really thought he is an Englishman, still can't believe how yashasvi jaiswal was dancing pic.twitter.com/IHq6bvizJd

— (@screwgauge77) June 25, 2025

Duckett, the biggest beneficiary of Jaiswal’s generosity, went on to score a sublime 149. Zak Crawley chipped in with a handy 65 up top, and after a slight wobble in the middle, Joe Root (53*) and debutant Jamie Smith (44*) calmly steered England home with an unbroken 71-run partnership. 

Jaiswal wasn’t alone in fluffing chances — Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant also put down catches — but it’s hard to look past the fact that Jaiswal’s errors came repeatedly and at critical moments. More than the numbers, it was the body language — especially in that viral clip — that irked fans. Let’s be honest: no one drops catches on purpose. But when you’re dropping them over and over again, it stops being an accident and starts becoming a problem. His technique looked shaky, and his confidence evaporated with every missed opportunity. 

Fielding coach T. Dilip now has a major job on his hands ahead of the second Test in Birmingham, which kicks off on July 2. India will need sharper hands and sharper minds if they’re to bounce back and level the series.