Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar blames series of dropped catches for defeat in Leeds Test; ex-BCCI chief selector Kiran More and former India coach Greg Chappell agree, but insist new skipper Shubman Gill and his team will learn from mistakes
India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal drops England’s Ben Duckett on 97 during Day Five of the first Test in Leeds on Tuesday. Pic/Getty Images
Despite five centuries from Rishabh Pant (134 and 118), Shubman Gill (147), KL Rahul (137) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (101), Team India lost the opening Test to England by five wickets at Leeds on Tuesday. The visitors paid a heavy price for their poor fielding, particularly, their inability to hold on to catches.
Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar believes Shubman Gill & Co will have to improve their catching skills if they want to make a comeback in the series.
‘Grab it with both hands’
“If you dropped so many catches in a Test like this, they [England] won’t give you another opportunity. Actually, our players should be able to convert even half chances into catches. You have to grab it with both hands. If you are dropping catches, don’t expect to win a match,” Vengsarkar told mid-day on Wednesday.
Dilip Vengsarkar and Greg Chappell
In all, the Indians dropped eight catches in the Leeds Test with opener Yashasvi Jaiswal being responsible for four of them, of which three were close-in while the fourth was in the outfield.
Vengsarkar, 69, who was known to be a brilliant slip fielder in his playing days, insisted that there can be no excuse for poor fielding. “The English weather was good, the wicket was good and it was not a grassy pitch. The Test lasted for five days, but thanks to our poor catching, we missed out [on winning]. Fielding techniques are the same everywhere you go. They have a fielding coach [T Dilip] and all the facilities which they should be making the most of. So, there is no excuse for this [poor fielding]. You have to be alert and focused at all times while fielding,” said Vengsarkar.
Kiran More during a promotional event at the Cricket Club of India yesterday. Pic/Ashish Raje
Former India wicketkeeper and chief selector Kiran More also felt that the Indian team needs to work hard on their catching. “The players must do some extra fielding and catching practice,” More told mid-day on the sidelines of the launch of str8bat at the Cricket Club of India on Wednesday. He however, stressed that fielding in England isn’t easy. “All our players are good fielders. It’s not easy to field in English conditions, but no one drops catches deliberately. It’s part of the game. You might have a bad day. As a wicketkeeper, I’ve missed catches too. Jaiswal is not a bad fielder. He should forget this Test. We have another four to go. Our boys are fearless and they showed it [with the bat] in both innings. Yes, they could’ve done better, but they are a new team and will definitely learn from this,” added More, 62.
Gill will improve: Greg
Former India coach Greg Chappell, 76, who was also part of the str8bat launch event, and spoke via videoconference, said that skipper Gill has begun well but will have a few learnings to take from this one. “Both Gill and the Indian think tank would have learned a lot on what to take forward [from this Test defeat]. Gill will only get better and better. I think his start was pretty good. Had the team taken a few more catches and the tail wagged a bit [India lost their last seven wickets for just 41 runs in the first innings while their last six wickets fell for just 31 in the second stint], the result could have been very different,” said Chappell.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
