The final match of the just-concluded T20I series against New Zealand was enough to showcase the remarkable turnaround Indian cricket has made regarding fielding.
Rohit Sharma taking a diving catch while running backwards or Virat Kohli throwing himself across at cover to make a stunning save was a testament to India’s excellent fielding abilities.
Even in the first game of the series, Hardik Pandya’s remarkable diving catch to dismiss Martin Guptill showed that Indian cricket had made huge strides as far as fielding is concerned.
And with the Indian team displaying fielding standard of a top level, fielding coach R Sridhar has lauded it by saying India team’s ground fielding is best in the world.
“As far as ground fielding is concerned we are the best in the world,” Sridhar was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
Sridhar further said the Indian Premier League had raised the bar of fielding which has resulted in improved fitness among the players.
“The IPL is a major contributor as fielding is given more importance. (Resultantly), not only have fitness levels vastly improved but also the awareness around it. Nowadays you can’t hide on the field. If you are playing a game of eight overs then even one small fumble can decide the match,” he noted.
But amidst all this, one cannot forget that slip fielding is a matter of concern for the team and Sridhar is well aware of it. However, Sridhar feels the issue is down to the forced-experimentation in the slip cordon due to injuries.
“If we have the same men consistently (without injuries) in the squad then we can always have a settled slip cordon. Going into the next series, we will see who we have – Ajinkya Rahane, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul or Shikhar Dhawan. We will take a look and go according to what we have,” he said.
Sridhar also had a word of advice for India’s fast bowlers who too have been garnering praise from all over for their consistent show in the last couple of years or so. The bowlers have been praised not only for their bowling but also their fielding, and Sridhar also lauded them.
“Their fitness levels have gone up, and the mindset has changed. On one hand, you have Umesh Yadav, who is an excellent fielder. The kind of improvement Jasprit Bumrah has made over the last 18 months is unbelievable. Mohammad Shami has the best arm in the country and covers ground well. Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) is one of the fittest players around. Mohammad Siraj is a good athlete and has the potential to be a potent fielder. So we have a good crop of fast bowlers who are good fielders,” he said.
The 47-year old also opened up on the team’s plans as a fielding unit and admitted that the team’s catching needs to improve.
“We are training and looking at all the aspects of fielding to make sure that we put the 11 best fielders in the park over the next one to one-and-a-half-years. It is an ongoing process, and definitely, we have room for improvement in terms of our catching,” says Sridhar. “I prefer to leave the fielders alone as I believe less information is better than more information.”
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