India’s fielding hasn’t reflected the team’s domination in the Asia Cup, and leaves much to be desired as the Men in Blue march to the final.
The Indians’ tally of spilt chances on the field shot to 12 in the tournament after they dropped as many as five catches against Bangladesh in Dubai on Wednesday.
No other team has dropped as many in the competition, with Hong Kong second with 11 dropped catches, and Bangladesh third with eight.
India’s catching problem was in the spotlight in its six-wicket win over Pakistan in the Super Four, when four chances went begging, helping opener Sahibzada Farhan, who was dropped twice, score a half-century.
REPORT | Imperfect India finds a way past Bangladesh, advances to final
On Wednesday, Bangladesh opener Saif Hassan was the beneficiary as the Indians handed him four reprieves to help him to his second successive fifty in the competition.
India’s mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has borne the brunt of India’s poor fielding, with as many as four dropped chances coming off his bowling.
After the match, Varun said that the stadium’s unique lighting, often referred to as the ‘Ring of Fire’, can be a hindrance but not an excuse.
“You can’t give excuses at this level. As a team, we have to definitely start catching all those… The Ring of Fire is definitely a little bit [of a problem]. It comes in the eyesight sometimes. It is a little bit of a disturbance, and we have to get acclimatised to it,” he said after picking two wickets in India’s 41-run win over Bangladesh.
“This team is on a mission for the World Cup, so we have to pick up our fielding, obviously. The fielding coach [T. Dilip] will have lots to say. I feel, after the last match, he didn’t say much, but after today, he will have lots to say,” Varun added.
Following the last game against Pakistan, India captain Suryakumar Yadav had light-heartedly said that the fielding coach would pull up the team after a horror show on the field.
“The fielding coach has already emailed the boys to come to the office tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. But it is part of the game, and I am okay with it, because this happened in the first game, and there are more crucial games lined up,” he had quipped.
However, after a repeat of India’s nightmarish fielding, the fielding coach will have to be sterner.
READ | BCCI files complaint against Pakistan cricketers Haris Rauf, Sahibzada Farhan
The team has practised high catching extensively at the ICC Academy during its training sessions here, but it hasn’t translated on match days. Some of the drills have even included looking into the lights before catching to replicate the conditions at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
“We had a few sessions here, and we did a lot of fielding practice,” Suryakumar had said while responding to a query about the role of the ‘Ring of Fire’ in India’s poor catching.
While the culpability of the ‘Ring of Fire’ is debatable, India will surely be in the line of fire if it lets the Asia Cup trophy slip through its butterfingered grasp.
Published on Sep 25, 2025
The postAsia Cup 2025: Indian catching in the line of fire despite dominant run appeared first on Sportstar