He said that the newbies in the team are arriving “undercooked” in terms of their fielding abilities. There is no denying the fact that India’s fielding standards have gone down in the past couple of years. From dropping regulation catches to letting easy boundaries slip away, the Indian fielders have not been up to the mark. Such errors on the field have also played a big role in India’s defeats. former India fielding coach R Sridhar came up with a blunt assessment While talking about the issue.
Because they seem to have been brought up on only one skill, that is batting,” Sridhar said during an interaction facilitated by Sony Sports Network on Monday. (With IANS Inputs), some are fast bowlers, some are batters, but whoever is coming in, they don’t seem to be the kind of fielder a Kohli is or even a Surya or Shreyas is, the generation of that block, I’m saying,. “But whereas in fielding, that seems to be absent, and what is really worrying is the fact that the new kids who are coming into the squad are undercooked in their fielding ability.
As per statistical data from Cricket-21 in T20Is in 2026, India’s fielding standards have been in decline. India currently rank second-last among the top 10 nations in catching efficiency at 73.4 per cent, having put down a jaw-dropping 58 catches. dropped chances and ground-fielding errors have led to 226 runs being leaked, resulting in a net deficit of 97 runs While Indian fielders have saved 129 runs.
Furthermore, India lead all teams in missed run-out opportunities with 19, despite effecting 14 of them. With matches in New Zealand set to begin at 8 pm local time, it means fielders will take the field when it is bitterly cold. Add to that the fact that Indian wicketkeepers have missed two stumpings out of five chances. “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, the way the Indian team is batting. Similarly, there’s a clear culture in the way the Indian team is using fast bowlers, especially in the ODIs, where Shubman Gill likes to hit the deck.
