CHENNAI: India’s fielding has grown leaps and bounds over the past decade. At the World Cup, they emerged as the best fielding unit. From catching to ground fielding, the Men in Blue have been tigers. As fielding coach, Ramakrishnan Sridhar has been part of this metamorphosis. In an exclusive interview, the former Hyderabad player took time off to share what goes behind the scenes. Excerpts:
From the time you joined till now, what is the biggest difference you see in the team’s fielding? Will you single out a format in particular?
Intensity levels are different these days. When I put my thoughts to it, the entire thing comes from the top: Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri. I also keep pushing the players. The moment I see someone’s shoulders drooping, I bring it to his notice. Intensity is non-negotiable. Shastri has made no bones about mentioning that fielding as a skill is of utmost importance. I give the feedback. It is up to the players to be on top of their mark, based on their abilities.
Has the bad-day percentage you often talk about reduced over the years?
Definitely. Especially when it comes to the white-ball formats, where it is necessary to be consistent to maintain good results. When a team is winning 65-70 per cent of its games, it is massively consistent. To ensure that consistency and keep results going our way, bad days in fielding have to be minimum. We will definitely have bad days. Say if we are at 99 per cent on a good day, we can’t let that slip to 89 on bad days. It has to be around 97 or 96. We have achieved that to a large extent, especially with regards to ground fielding. When it comes to catching, there will the odd miss. But with regards to ground fielding, we are very proud of the work we’re doing.
Talking of catches, were you surprised by Ajinkya Rahane’s drops during the Bangladesh Tests?
Totally. Because when Rahane drops a catch, it always surprises me considering the work he puts into preparation. If you look the world over, there are not many like him. He is one of the best when it comes to standing at slips for spinners. When we assessed those drops and did our debriefing, we didn’t respect the conditions that much in Indore. There was plenty of bounce on that surface. With (R) Ashwin being a tall bowler, he was getting a bit of over-spin. I thought Rahane was standing a bit forward than he should have been, and the ball was coming to his chest. He had very less time to react, and he couldn’t do anything about it. It was nothing to do with his skills. It just boils down to positioning.
Any reason behind why Rahane isn’t stationed at slips for pacers?
He has a terrific record at gully. Even when he joined, he had a good record with Mumbai there. His reflexes are really good, which means he is best suited at that position. Plus, he has familiarity with the position.
How was it to field with the pink ball?
There are challenges, especially with regard to visibility under lights. But we worked hard for it. With familiarity, we will get better.
There is a new slip cordon...
Rohit (Sharma) has been a welcome addition because he has very good hands and the game awareness that you need in the cordon. Even though Mayank (Agarwal) is new, he brings a lot of intensity and has taken to the culture of the team well. (Cheteshwar) Pujara is someone who is very safe at first slip. We are trying to groom the likes of (Shubman) Gill and (Hanuma) Vihari, because you never know when such a situation arrives. We are trying to create a pool of players who can be stationed at slips because we have an incredible pace attack that is going to create a lot of opportunities. You need fielders to complement them at all costs.
How do you select a slip fielder?
It is a specialist job. The things we look at in a player are: ability to concentrate for long periods, hand-eye coordination, reflexes and soft hands.
You were seen conducting different fielding drills ahead of the Pune Test. What was that for?
You must be talking about evasion techniques. When we play at home, opposition batsmen bring sweep into the equation against spinners. When you stand close in, there are chances of getting injured.
So, you need to know how to be evasive. If you are at forward short-leg, you should know how to expose only a minimal portion of your body. At silly point, the fielder needs to be better at jumping up rather than squatting. You don’t want to lose them to injuries.
We rarely see India hide a fielder. Can we say that that is the case across formats?
The requirements are different. The one-day and T20 teams are very agile. I can say that with confidence. In the Test team, they are definitely improving with youngsters coming in. But we are talking about two different variants; the requirements differ completely. For example, Ravichandran Ashwin and Pujara saved 14 runs during the Bangladesh series, which is good. There is Ishant (Sharma) who is really good. So, the Test team by its own standards is very good, reliable outfit. The focus for them is more on catching, especially slip catching.
Tell us more about the intensity you expect from a fielder?
Most of it comes from Kohli. There have been so many instances where he’s created a run-out out of nowhere. Shamarh Brooks was batting well during the Jamaica Test, and Kohli created the chance when the partnership was threatening to build. There are so many more examples. Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul are all capable of coming up with brilliance on the field that can change the game.
When a partnership is building, we often see the intensity of fielders increasing. Is it a product of the culture you are building?
Absolutely. When wickets are falling regularly, you don’t need anyone to keep the intensity going. It is only when a partnership is starting to grow that we have to create magic, instead of waiting for things to happen. Fielding is one aspect which can do that, especially if you convert a half-chance into a catch. You need to keep creating something out of nowhere. That is what keep us ticking as a unit.
What’s the focus now, shifting to T20s?
If we are talking about the World T20 in Australia next year, the focus is on lateral movement. Fielders have to be quick since the outfields there are big. They need to be able to cut down angles quickly. We also need to be really good with outfield throws. These are the things that we need to train extensively for.
Since you mentioned angles, opposition captains often mention that as a challenge in India. How do you plan for that when you go overseas?
To begin with, we have to take into account the ground’s dimensions, the pace of the wicket, and the tendencies of batsmen. I try to educate our fielders about these things before a match, so that they can help cut down the angles. That is how you will be able to position yourself better. If the venue is big square of the wicket, third-man and fine-leg have to be very fine; they shouldn’t get beaten from the inside. But if the straights are big and square is small, then they can field a bit wide.
What makes Jadeja so special as a fielder?
He is a natural athlete. He is phonomenal and someone who creates lot of pressure on the field. He deserves all the accoldates and credit. Nobody can make Jadeja. I take zero credit for him. Even if I’m not there and someone else is, he will still be great.
There seems to enormous pressure on Rishabh Pant. How are you going to work with him?
That is the challenge. He wants to learn and work on his shortcomings. He is always working on that. But we need to give him time. He is only 21. That is a very young age for a wicketkeeper. The more he trains and plays, the more he will learn. If we leave him alone, he will win you matches. We are working hard. He is a work in progress, and is trying to improve his skills. It is unfair to compare him with MS Dhoni or Wriddhiman Saha, who are experienced. Let him be Pant.