First of all, it will be better if i bring this quote to light: “Catches wins you Matches”. Ever since the retirement of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, India’s middle order woes is not the only worry for India. Fielding in slips too has been exposed since the retirement of those four safest hands in Indian cricket. Skipper MS Dhoni has used as many as eight Indian team regulars in the slip position, those missing out are only the pacers of the team. Here is how the fielders fared in slip position since 2011.
|
S. No |
Player |
Total Catches |
Catches caught |
Catches Dropped |
Conversion % |
|
1 |
Suresh Raina |
8 |
8 |
0 |
100.00 |
|
2 |
Shikhar Dhawan |
11 |
8 |
3 |
72.72 |
|
3 |
Rohit Sharma |
7 |
5 |
2 |
71.40 |
|
4 |
Murali Vijay |
13 |
9 |
4 |
69.23 |
|
5 |
R Ashwin |
7 |
4 |
3 |
57.14 |
|
6 |
Virat Kohli |
28 |
15 |
13 |
53.60 |
|
7 |
Ajinkya Rahane |
4 |
2 |
2 |
50.00 |
|
8 |
Ravindra Jadeja |
4 |
2 |
2 |
50.00 |
Among these eight players, Virat Kohli alone has dropped 13 out of the 28 catches that came his way. Shikhar Dhawan, R Ashwin and Murali Vijay fielded in slips during the tour of England and ended up in dropping few catches. Rohit Sharma has a quite decent record in slips but he is not fielding in that position anymore. Suresh Raina is the only fielder to have successfully grabbed on to all the catches.
Even some good fielders struggle in slips. The only way the fielders can excel in slips is by the experience they get while fielding in that position. Dropping catches in the slips have hurted India badly in the recent past and one would expect the fielders to back up the good work done by the bowlers by hanging on to the catches.