Ex-players give a reality check amid all-round euphoria.
Cricket rankings have never been awaited with as much enthusiasm by Indian fans as in recent months.
The celebrations at the Brabourne Stadium were a culmination of the climb to the pinnacle of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings, and that it came just a few months after a brief stay at the top in the one-day table is testimony to India’s present stature in world cricket.
But even as we bask in the glory of recent successes, the challenge for the team management and support staff (including Michael Young, the new fielding consultant) is to raise the bar in fielding, especially in ODIs.
Letting the opposition steal an extra run, or worse still, letting go of a catch or a run out chance has long been India’s usual practice.
In the Compaq Cup final against Sri Lanka in September, India dropped two easy catches and let go of three run-out opportunities but still won on stellar performances by centurion Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh.
A similar story followed in the subsequent Champions Trophy while bad fielding stuck out like a sore thumb in the seven-match home series loss against Australia. The Aussies easily converted singles into twos and stole ones where there should have been none.
“The fielding has been disappointing and if India hope to remain at the top or close to the top, this aspect needs to improve quite a bit. No team can be the best in the world without good fielding,” says Madan Lal, a former India all-rounder and coach. “Fielding has a direct bearing on consistency and that is what makes the Aussies a top side. Several Indian bowlers can only be assets if they are able to supplement good bowling with good fielding,” he added, referring to players like Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan.
Surender Khanna, a Delhi teammate of Madan Lal during the 1970s and 80s, feels that when a third bowler like Munaf Patel or Ishant is not good at batting and fielding, it affects the balance.
“Just look back at the times India have been a top one-day side and you will realise that fielding was very good. In the 80s, we had players like Kapil Dev, Madan Lal, Roger Binny, Mohammad Azharuddin and Maninder Singh, who were all capable of fielding brilliantly and producing flat throws even from the boundary,” says the former India wicketkeeper.
“Someone like (Sunil) Gavaskar never dropped catches in the slips and others like Mohinder Amarnath too could be trusted not to let go of opportunities, even in the deep,” adds Khanna, who was Man of the Series in the Asia Cup (1984) in Sharjah.
How much can the present lot actually improve?
“It is not easy to transform a side in fielding overnight but I feel the team can improve by at least 30 or 40 per cent by trying harder. Fielding is all about how much enthusiasm you put in the job,” said Madan Lal.
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