India's dropping standards

Bengaluru: From escorting the ball to the boundary to pulling off acrobatic saves, the Indian men’s cricket team has made remarkable strides in fielding over the years. Several players now rank among the best in the world, inspiring a new generation to treat fielding with the same seriousness as batting or bowling. Yet, despite its growing importance, fielding has not fully become ingrained in India’s cricketing culture. Much like extreme weather patterns in an era of climate change, the team’s fielding performances swing between excellency and mediocrity.

For a side currently ranked No. 1 in both ODIs and T20Is -- and one that has captured two major ICC white-ball titles (the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy) while also reaching the 50-over World Cup final since 2023 -- its catching standards remain surprisingly sub-par. The flair seen in batting and the craft displayed in bowling often vanish when it comes to fielding, especially catching. Nothing highlights this inconsistency more starkly than their dismal 67.5% catching rate in the Asia Cup in September, a figure only better than Hong Kong’s 52.1%. In contrast, even teams like the UAE (85.7%) and Oman (76.4%) were far ahead.

"I agree, it's blow hot and blow cold," former India fielding coach R Srdhar tells DHoS. "But I think that the microscopic scrutiny and the added pressure and all, it doesn't help. You saw Australia women, they dropped a couple of easy catches the other night. So every team kind of drops catches, it happens. It happens to the best of the best. But yes, the one point is blow hot, blow cold. We had this brilliant Asia Cup final, but before that we dropped 12 catches in whatever matches. So the challenge is to find more consistency."

In the Asia Cup, they at least had the excuse of "ring of fire" (a reference to the floodlight system at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium), but the trend has continued in Australia as well. While dropping catches under lights, which is relatively a lot more difficult, is bad enough, spilling them during daylight is unacceptable at this level. Sridhar points out two reasons that can't be fixed immediately.

Different players for different formats and the tight international schedule, especially for the Indian team.

"If you see across formats, the players are different," Sridhar begins. "It's not easy for the team management and the staff to keep on churning out the players. Different players are coming in different formats. The needs are different, practices are different, communication lines are different and the skill sets are different. So a lot of things have to be managed. It's not an excuse. It has to be done. What has to be done has to be done."

"I can't put my thumb on something and say that this is the reason why we are not fielding well because I don't know what is happening in the change room. What are they working on? What aren't they working on? Those are two very very important questions that they need to answer."

Having worked with the Indian team for four years, what are the challenges you have faced in your job?

"The most difficult thing about the job is the time," he points out. "You finish a Test match on 14th of October, take a flight on 15th, land on 16th night, you have two nights to adjust in Perth, 19th you are playing a high pressure game. So where is the time? And you tell me, when there are two days of practice available, will the players focus on their primary skill or will they worry too much about their fielding? There is a lot of balance that needs to be made. There is no time. The calendar is set. I think we need to get better, that is something that we need to do. But just cut some slack (for the players)."

That said, India will have to find a way to improve their catching standards. No team has dominated world cricket for a prolonged period with sub-par fielding quality. In the recent Test series in England, India dropped as many as 23 catches out of 45 that came their way, effectively grassing every second offer. You can't expect to win a series by wasting so many chances against a good team.

Indian white-ball teams have also seen several players graduate from IPL - whether they are mystery bowlers or big hitters. Many of them don't come to IPL from a structured system. They could be late bloomers who are spotted by IPL scouts in domestic cricket. Typically, they would have focused on one skill rather than all-round development. Such players get badly exposed in international cricket.

"Your grassroot level and your pathway are very very important," says Sridhar. "Someone who comes through a proper pathway, they are a little more complete cricketers when they make their debuts rather than someone who comes through an accelerated pathway. There always is going to be some kind of a gap in their game. Because they are accelerated based on certain skills... You take a Varun Chakravarthy, despite being 30-31, when he reaches his peak, he is struggling due to multiple reasons, physical injuries or whatever. He is not the best. None of your bowlers are bullets on the ground. They are safe. Like (Jasprit) Bumrah is safe, but he is not the fastest. Kuldeep (Yadav) is safe and he is a much-improved fielder now." 

"Similarly with Varun. And you have (Harshit) Rana, I saw him drop a catch running in (in the second T20I against Australia in Melbourne). With Rana and Varun, it was definitely Rana's catch. So, you know, it is challenging for the coach to immediately tune them in."

It is also to do with the mentality wherein the fielding is looked at as something less productive compared to batting and bowling, especially in the age of IPL. While there is a definite shift in attitude towards fielding, it needs to be a part of team culture something that, Sridhar says, he has been emphasising upon.           

"The team needs to have a culture code. It's very important. When they get together, they need to have a culture code. Democratically made culture code which everyone should adhere to those standards. Also, this culture code shouldn't be just with the national team. It has to be the same with the first-class team and the IPL teams that they are playing for. Fielding culture code has to be in the national programme. Those who come with the proper pathway, they are all good. You see many of the players who come through the proper pathway, which is the Centre of Excellence, under-19 and stuff like that, they are mostly good."

"But there could be someone who when he comes to the team, doesn't know anything about fielding. He doesn't know when a batter plays the ball, which way it would turn. So, it becomes a nightmare. That is a failure of the system. Not getting good fielders when they are playing for India is a system's failure. I have always spoken about this. Some of these players are made out to be stars right from a young age... So, he gets to stand where he wants. He gets to do what he wants on the cricket field when he is playing in his age group. But, the minute he comes to an Indian team, he is exposed. So, someone like him should already be exposed to tough rigours of fielding practice. So, all your players who are in your pathway, have to work very hard on fielding. They are all improving, no doubt. But, what I am saying is the Indian team's fielding coach will not have a magic wand in his hand. The system has to improve for us to become a top-class fielding side. It has to come from bottom to top," he explained.

Until that systemic change takes root, India’s fielding will continue to yo-yo between brilliance and blunder. Fielding cannot remain an afterthought, a perfunctory carried out between batting and bowling stints. It must be devoted due importance at every level, from age-group cricket to the National team.

India

Indian players being put through session of catching. AFP 

Indian players being put through session of catching. AFP