Catching Is A Work In Progress: India’s Fielding Coach Sridhar

Dec 16, 2016 at 11:05 PM

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Catching Is A Work In Progress: India’s Fielding Coach Sridhar

In an otherwise perfect series with the bat and bowl, fielding has been the only aspect that has been an area of concern for the hosts. Virat Kohli’s men are currently leading the series by 3-0 but their poor fielding performance has allowed the visitors to dominate on several occasions.

As expected, when India’s fielding coach R Sridhar attended the post-day press conference, he was asked about India’s unimpressive fielding. Admitting that the fielding has not been up to the mark in the series, Sridhar cited injuries as the reason behind the indifferent fielding performance.

Sridhar said:“I would agree that our catching, especially our close in catching off pacers behind the stumps has not been up to scratch this series. We have set high standards in the last two years but this particular series, things haven’t gone our way.”

“It (catching) is a work in progress. There have been a few injuries to players in the series. We have changed personnel in the close cordon. It is not an excuse but we are working on it. We are trying to manage the workload, the injury part as far as fingers are concerned. We are sure to get better from here,” he added.

The injuries once again came to haunt the hosts as after Lokesh Rahul mistimed his jump and could not get to the ball to hand Moeen Ali a reprieve, the left-handed batsman went on to score 120* to guide his team to 284 for 4 by the end of the day.

Speaking about that missed chance:“It burst through his fingers over the head. Maybe his timing of the jump could have been better. But these things happen in cricket. It was a tough situation for England at that time, getting Moeen out early could have helped us because the first hour there was little moisture on the wicket. Later the wicket eased out and became good to bat on as Moeen showed.

But he did not take away anything from the English batsmen and credited him and Joe Root (88) for England’s good show on the first day.

The coach also seemed pleased with Virat Kohli’s performance in the slip cordon in absence of Ajinkya Rahane. Sridhar also had a word of praise for Cheteshwar Pujara who is not considered the best of fielders in the team.

“I think Kohli has been magnificent (in place of Rahane) but we would miss his energy in the outfield. He is a livewire when he is fielding short cover, short mid-wicket, where he stops a lot of singles and creates opportunities. But now with Kohli at slip, he has been as good as Ajinkya.

“Pujara is actually the one who pushes me for fielding. Yes, he has got his limitations as an athlete, but one thing which you got to give it to him is his effort in practice sessions in fielding. He is the only guy probably who makes sure he fields,” Sridhar said.

“In the outfield, close in and whatever positions, he does it religiously and meticulously in every single practice session. And if you see over the last 18-24 months, Pujara has definitely improved as a fielder. Today he saved three runs. Now with Karun and KL Rahul in the team, he is a bit relieved from the close in position. So he has been able to contribute in the outfield as well,” he added.

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