Is India missing a fielding coach?

The joke doing the rounds is that upon winning the toss, Mahendra Singh Dhoni should either choose to bat or field, not bowl.

So pathetic has been India’s bowling that inadequacies in the other two departments have gone somewhat unnoticed. Ashish Nehra drew flak for India’s defeat against South Africa, but few remember that the team’s fielding was below-par in Nagpur.

If a couple of sitters were not dropped, Nehra wouldn’t have had to bowl that last over.

Interestingly enough, Dhoni himself, more than anybody else, has admitted that the fielding has been below-par. At almost every media interaction, pre and post-match, the skipper has pointed out that some players are simply not good enough on the field.

“I don’t think we can improve the fielding very much because we have got quite a few slow fielders in the side,” the skipper said recently. “When I look at international standards, we are lacking in this area,” he admitted.

Given the inherent deficiency among our fielders, would the team have been better of with a fielding coach? Coach Gary Kirsten, who was instrumental in persuading the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to hire the services of experts like a yoga specialist, a motivational speaker, besides, of course, a mental trainer and a bowling coach, would not comment on this but the general impression is that a fielding coach may have helped the cause.

“I’m surprised to know that we don’t have a fielding coach. Why?” asked Kiran More, a former chief selector.

“The presence of a fielding coach would have surely helped,” More told DNA. Almost every participating team has one on its roster.

Robin Singh was India’s fielding coach when Kirsten took charge in March 2008. Eighteen months later, he and bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad were removed.

The BCCI briefly engaged Mike Young, a former and also the current fielding coach of the Australian team, early last year. But that stint lasted barely a month.

“The fielding doesn’t improve overnight. These skills are acquired over a period of time. In a tournament of this magnitude, a team can ill-afford misfields and dropped catches,” former South Africa all-rounder Brian McMillan told this paper.

McMillan used to be an excellent fielder in his playing days. “You have to stretch yourself and put your body behind the ball.” Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir dropped sitters against South Africa, but both are known to be good fielders. A coach would have kept reminding them of the principles of safe catching.

“Kirsten may not be able to pay enough attention to all these aspects,” thought More.

The ground fielding has been a bigger concern. As Dhoni himself admitted, the South Africans targeted a few players and converted singles into twos and twos into threes whenever the ball went towards our ‘poor’ fielders.

“Our good fielders can get better, the slower fielders will remain the same. Fielding is a big area of concern. We need to save 5-10 runs and contribute some more on the field. While fielding, we have to save around 10 runs. All good sides will do that,” Dhoni said.

Asked why the team does not have a fielding coach, a top board official said the question should be directed at the team management.

McMillan, however, said India should not worry about the absence of a fielding coach at this stage. “It is too late to think about it. They should get on with the game. I strongly feel India are one of the best sides in the competition and they will be in the final. It will be India vs South Africa,” McMillan predicted.