"These Are Challenging Conditions": Ex-India Coach Backs Yashasvi Jaiswal After Fielding Horror vs England
Yashasvi Jaiswal's forgettable outing on the field proved to be costly as Team India lost the first Test against England by five wickets in Leeds.
Yashasvi Jaiswal's forgettable outing on the field proved to be costly as Team India lost the first Test against England by five wickets in Leeds. The 23-year-old batter, who scored a century in the first innings, completely failed to show his magic in fielding as he dropped a total of four catches in the match. He dropped the catches of Ben Duckett twice and Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope's once. These mistakes turned out to be expensive as in the second innings, Duckett scored 149 and helped England chase the target of 371 with ease.
Due to these blunders, Jaiswal has been receiving constant criticism from fans and many former cricketers. However, former India fielding coach R Sridhar came in support of the young batter and stated that the tough weather conditions of Leeds made it difficult for him to grab those catches.
"He's actually an excellent gully fielder. Make no mistake. He's had just two bad games - one in Melbourne, one here in Leeds. Otherwise, he's been exceptional. The catches he took against Bangladesh in Kanpur were outstanding. It's easy to sit in the commentary box and criticise, but these are challenging conditions, and for many of them, it's their first experience of this environment," Sridhar said on Sportstar.
Not only Jaiswal, but India dropped a total of eight catches. Known for fielding, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja also gave a crucial lifeline to Ben Duckett in the first innings as he dropped him on 15.
Apart from him, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, debutant Sai Sudharsan, and even pacer Jasprit Bumrah also dropped catches during the match.
Talking about the overall fielding performance, Sridhar criticised Shubman Gill and co for a reckless outing, which eventually led to their defeat.
"The standard of ground fielding which is exhibited is not acceptable. Unlike catching, ground fielding is something which is totally in your control. You should know which ball to put your body behind, which ball to attack, which ball to play safe," Sridhar said.
The second Test of the five-match series between India and England will kick-start from July 2 in Birmingham.
India Cricket Team
England Cricket Team