Why India's fielding culture has taken a huge hit in recent times

Former India fielding coach Sridhar analyses what is going wrong and why

- Sanjjeev K Samyal

With five wins in five games, India have been on a dream run in the Asia Cup.

Abhishek Sharma & Co have put on a batting show while Kuldeep Yadav & Co have spun a web around the opposition lineups.

For a team playing such ruthless cricket, it's quite bizarre to see them struggling with their fielding. Their dominating displays have been marred by a series of dropped catches. In the ongoing tournament, India have dropped as many as 12 catches.

During the six-wicket triumph over Pakistan in the Super Fours, India dropped four catches. The trend continued on Wednesday, with Bangladesh's top scorer Saif Hassan being handed four lives (on 40, 65, 66 and 67).

After India's victory over Pakistan, reflecting on India’s fielding woes, captain Suryakumar Yadav jokingly said, “The fielding coach T Dilip has emailed the boys with butter fingers to appear before him.” However, this has not been just about the Asia Cup. It has been the story of the season. In February, India won the Champions Trophy final, also played in Dubai, but dropped four catches.

Even during the Test series in England there were many chances that went abegging, with India dropping 23 catches in five games -- the most they have ever dropped in a series, seven more than when they toured Australia in 2018/19.