Upon arriving for the Sri Lanka tour, Team India began its preparations by focusing on what has become its biggest weakness of late. At the NCC Ground in Colombo, the Indian players first practiced fielding, particularly slip catching. In the presence of head coach Gautam Gambhir, players like Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Dhruv Jurel were seen working on their slip catching techniques. This clearly indicates that the team management is determined not to repeat the past mistake of dropping catches on this tour.
Over the past year, the Indian team’s fielding has been under constant scrutiny. Despite strong batting and bowling performances, poor fielding has cost the team on numerous occasions. Dropped catches allowed opposition batsmen to post high scores, compounding India’s difficulties in several matches. This is why the practice session in Sri Lanka began with fielding drills. Recently, Team India toured the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe for a white-ball series. During this period, the Indian team played a total of 13 matches, but its fielding performance was extremely disappointing. In the 10 matches played in the United Kingdom, the Indian players dropped 11 catches, while in the three matches played in Zimbabwe, they dropped 10 catches. The persistent dropped catches became a major concern for the team, prompting the team management to decide to pay special attention to this issue.
India’s fielding also came under criticism during the T20 World Cup 2026. The team’s catch percentage in the group stage matches was less than 70. Former Indian fast bowler Varun Aaron also expressed concern, saying that over the past 12 months, the Indian team has been among the world’s weakest teams in terms of catching. According to him, the team was dropping two to three easy catches in almost every match, directly impacting the outcome. This weakness was also evident in Test cricket. In the five-Test series played on the England tour, Indian players dropped a total of 23 catches, while England dropped 18. India dropped 13 catches in the first two Test matches alone. In particular, in the Leeds Test, the team dropped eight catches, four of which were attributed to Yashasvi Jaiswal alone. Three of these catches were dropped in the slips and one in the outfield, further compounding the team’s difficulties.
Cricket experts believe that the absence of experienced players like Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli has also impacted slip fielding. During the 2018 and 2021-22 tours of England, the Indian team dropped a total of 13 catches, while this figure increased to 23 in the subsequent tours. With experienced players, the slip cordon was considered stronger and more reliable. Now, on the Sri Lanka tour, Team India is trying to turn this weakness into a strength. Gautam Gambhir and the team management believe that strong fielding can change the course of any match. If players are successful in converting even difficult catches into safe hands, the bowlers’ confidence will increase, strengthening the team’s chances of victory. Therefore, this additional emphasis on fielding, along with batting and bowling, could play a crucial role in India’s performance on the Sri Lanka tour.