Evolution of Indian fielding since the late 1990s

Fielders in the Indian infield during the 90s would have made good careers as traffic policemen. Anything out of reach would be indicated by a signal to the fielder in the deep. The act of diving was unknown then. Chasing the ball and allowing it to cross the boundary line was common. The standard of fielding was mediocre, to say the least. There was one man who stood out, Robin Singh.

He was a live wire and the disparity between him and others was evident in the field. At times, he defied tradition by holding on to catches in the so-called ‘Australian way’. He could also bat well and bowl at military medium consistently. His five-wicket haul in the World Cup match against Sri Lanka in 1999 was overshadowed by Sourav Ganguly’s blitzkrieg. He also has a century to his name.

The duo of Robin Singh and Mohammed Azharuddin, whose slip catching was commendable, were a notch above others. At the turn of the century, Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif breathed fresh life into Indian fielding. They patrolled the off-side and made diving look relatively easy. It was a sight those days to see these two fielding at point and cover and stopping almost every ball that came their way.

Yuvraj Singh and Kaif took Indian fielding to a different level altogether. Yuvraj’s catches against South Africa to dismiss Graeme Smith and Jonty Rhodes in the 2002 Champions Trophy semifinal were instrumental in India advancing to the finals. When Mohammed Kaif caught Shoaib Malik in the 49th over, the match was sealed in India’s favour in 2005, India eventually won by 5 runs in spite of scoring a paltry 25 in the final 5 overs of their innings and still managed to reach 349.

With more emphasis, Indian fielding horizons expanded - in course of time every fielder was deemed safe. With Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman and occasionally Sachin Tendulkar in the slips, Sehwag, Yuvraj and Kaif in the off side, self-belief increased manifold. Players who missed out with the bat or ball could still have a sense of team spirit having contributed to the team’s cause with their fielding.

The whole approach to the 2011 World Cup changed when Suresh Raina was included in the playing XI. Although Indians were winning games, the fact that they were allowing the opposition to get singles or rotate strikes easily was a matter of concern in the league phase and the gap was plugged with the arrival of Raina. He also made useful contributions with the bat.

With sophisticated training methods and dedicated coaches, Indians now are on par or even shades above with their contemporaries all around the world. From being known for using singular gestures with outstretched hands, the fielding has evolved quite a lot.