Everyone cannot field in the slips, says Mohammad Azharuddin

Former Indian cricket team captain Mohammad Azharuddin was unveiled as the Brand Ambassador of the Bijapur Bulls for the upcoming Karnataka Premier Leauge.

The Bulls, who finished as runners-up last season, unveiled the entire squad along with Azharuddin as the Brand Ambassador.

While speaking to the media present at the event, Azharuddin spoke about the evolution of T20s and how they are developing in today's world.

"With the advent of T20s, a lot of players are coming to the fore. The Indian Premier League has thrown a lot of great talent out there. In fact, the IPL has become a stepping stone for players who want to play for the Indian cricket team," he said

"There are so many players who have played for India at a very early stage because of such leagues. After the IPL, so many leagues have come about - KPL, TNPL, CPL(West Indies), BBL (Australia). T20 is great as it lasts only for three to four hours."

"There was a tournament in Sharjah called T10. I hope it stops there and doesn't go on to T5," he continued.

He also went on to say that if he was playing T20 cricket today, he would have loved the fielding aspect of the game. From here, he went on to speak about how slip fielding is an art and not everyone can do it.

In fact, the Indian cricket team, who are currently taking on England in the first Test of the five-match series, dropped two catches yesterday. England, too, dropped the catch of Virat Kohli early on in the innings. This proved to be extremely costly as he went on to score a century.

"Slip fielding is a specialist's job. You can't get anybody and everybody to stand there. That's what is happening to the Indian team,” he said here on Thursday. “Players play a lot of T20s and ODIs now and slip hardly matters. But you should still practise and take 50 to 60 catches everyday. We need to identify players who are willing to do that," he said.

The KPL will begin on August 15 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, before moving to Hubli from August 19-24. The final leg of the tournament will take place in Mysuru from August 28, with the final taking place on September 6.