Former Team India fielding coach R Sridhar has opened up on India’s collective fielding performances, with dropped catches and fielding mishaps taking control lately within the Indian team.
Speaking to a select media on Sony Sports Network, Sridhar admitted that the Indian team’s fielding standards have dropped considerably over time and shared his views on how to overcome it, especially with new crop of players coming into the XI.
“We ended up winning the T20 World Cup, but still we were nowhere near being a good fielding unit in that tournament as well, Axar Patel probably just saved us from falling grace in that semi-final. So, we need to pick up our act together. I think fielding has now definitely taken a backseat in terms of application and in terms of building a certain culture. As we can see, there is a clear culture with the batting and bowling, but whereas in fielding, that seems to be absent,” R Sridhar said in a select media interaction organised by Sony Sports Network.
“What is really worrying is the fact that the new kids who are coming into the squad are undercooked in their fielding ability; some are fast bowlers, some are not, some are batters, but whoever is coming in, they, so they don’t seem to be the kind of fielder a Kohli is, or even a Surya or even a Shreyas – the generation of that block, I’m saying – because they seem to have been brought up on only one skill, that’s a bit of a worrying factor, but that is not for the Indian team to worry. That is for the entire ecosystem to wake up and smell the coffee, so there’s a lot of things to be done,” he added.
Further, Sridhar asserted that weather changes will also pose a challenge to the players in adapting to the conditions. With India scheduled to tour New Zealand later this month, Sridhar expressed his views, keeping conditions in mind.
“I think our fielders will have to adapt. As you know, we’ve had a very hot October in India this year, thanks to El Niño, the super El Niño. So there’s going to be quite a bit of adaptation there to be done by our fielders, bowlers, and batters,” R Sridhar said.
“It’s not going to be easy, let me tell you that. The form is not great, the fielding form of the Indian team, not just for the last few matches, but last few months, it’s not been great,” he concluded.
