The Surfer

An examination of India's fielding woes

Harsha Bhogle analyses India's poor fielding in the Indian Express

Harsha Bhogle analyses India's poor fielding in the Indian Express

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So why have we come to this stage? Because we have always looked upon fielding as an additional degree not as basic education. Not everyone can be a Jonty, or a Ponting or a Symonds or a Collingwood. But if you want to be an economist you must know mathematics, if you want to be an athlete you must know a fair bit about food and diets. That is why I believe, and I remember saying this five years ago, that coaches at India’s hyped but ineffective academies must take most of the blame. If a 17-year-old isn’t told that without being a fine fielder he is compromising on his future, then the teacher is no good. Neither is the student but sometimes you need to be shown what you cannot see.

India

Ashok Ganguly is an editorial assistant at Cricinfo