The most famous cricketing quote that isn’t is attributed to Steve Waugh, the tough-as-nails Australian captain. In the years since it wasn’t said, in 1999, in the World Cup against South Africa, "You’ve just dropped the World Cup" has gone into cricketing folklore. Fact is, Waugh insists he never used those words and the man whom they were supposedly directed at, Herschelle Gibbs, claims he never heard them. And yet, that hasn’t allowed the truth to come in the way of a good story.
Australia were playing South Africa in a must-win Super Six game in Leeds, and Waugh was on his way to orchestrating another of his famous rescue acts when he flicked Lance Klusener to mid-wicket. Gibbs started celebrating even before completing the catch, resulting in the ball keeping its tryst with the turf rather than his hands. Then 56, Waugh went on to make 120, Australia got home with two deliveries to spare, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Aiden Markram definitely didn’t say those words to Virat Kohli on Sunday night. For one thing, Kohli was a good 70 yards away when he muffed a sitter at deep mid-wicket. For another, the cricketing world respects the former Indian captain too much for anyone, let alone a low-key non-violent figure like Markram, to mouth off. Over time, oppositions have come to understand that it’s best to leave Kohli to his own devices. Needle him, and the consequences can be disastrous.
The Markram let-off was a rare Kohli indiscretion in the field. A driven, intense professional who has spent countless hours honing a non-reactive, highly-controllable discipline, the Kohli spill merely served to showcase the human side of someone who is unjustly regarded as a run-machine. Truth to tell, he is the least of India’s problems in the field. And there are some serious problems, believe us.
Not so long back, India boasted one of the best fielding sides in the world. The great Sunil Gavaskar said a couple of years ago that the then team was the second best Indian fielding unit of all time, only behind his World Championship of Cricket-winning outfit of 1985. Gavaskar’s team included Kapil Dev, a very raw Mohammad Azharuddin, the very speedy L Sivaramakrishnan, natural athletes Madan Lal, K Srikkanth and current Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Roger Binny, among others. They were brilliant on the vast outfields at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where India played most of their matches, even though they didn’t have the same exposure to fitness routines and gym regimen as the current lot.
Without exaggeration, it can be said with emphasis that India are nowhere near a top-class fielding group at the moment. With the honourable exception of Kohli, Hardik Pandya and to a lesser degree Suryakumar Yadav, India are at best passable, at worst a lumbering group being severely tested by the wide acres of outfield land in Australia.
Fitness and fielding are irrevocably intertwined, and it’s no coincidence that India’s best days in the field came during a time when the focus on fitness was unrelenting and non-negotiable, with Kohli at the forefront of the revolution. When he became the captain, Kohli insisted on enhanced fitness standards that not only aid in good fielding but also in smart decision-making, because inside a healthy body resides a fresh, healthy mind. That he led by example, overhauling his diet and lifestyle routines in a conscious effort to be the best version of himself, was the driving force for the rest because they knew that the skipper put the money where his mouth was, that he didn’t demand from them what he himself didn’t do.
Whether there has been a slight shift in mindset when it comes to adherence to peak fitness is open to question, but there is no denying the fact that this Indian team doesn’t look the fittest. At least, half a dozen of those who patrolled the park at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday night are on the wrong side of 30, which shouldn’t be a factor if one looks at Kohli. However, that many aren’t naturally the most agile or athletic doesn’t help, and there are too many in the "just passed" bracket for India to bank on their fielding to turn things around.
It’s not as if the team management wasn’t unaware of this aspect coming to Australia, where subpar fielding stands more ruthlessly exposed than anywhere else. It’s a compromise they were willing to make as they placed greater onus on skill-sets and adaptability, but their patience will be tested the deeper India go into the tournament. The quick turnaround between matches preclude serious, high-intensity fielding drills, and even were they possible, very few, if any, can go from ugly duckling to swan in such a short span of time.
Experience can help swap excellence for smartness. Rohit Sharma, for instance, may labour to chase after a ball but within the 30-yard circle, he is brilliant at narrowing down angles and moves surprisingly swiftly. There is a lesson in that for his other colleagues. Everyone can’t be a Jonty Rhodes, a Ravindra Jadeja or an Andrew Symonds, God bless his soul. If one can put in the hard yards and be the best versions of themselves ball after ball, over after over, match after match, that will be half the battle won.
More miles in the legs means more tired bodies, so India’s resilience will be sorely tested in the fortnight ahead. True, other teams that get that far — assuming India take their expected place in the semis — will also be somewhat bushed, but they are traditionally naturally well-rounded fielding sides and don’t have to rack their brains to "hide" men on the park.
India’s best bet is to hold their catches, take their chances with run-outs and do the small things impeccably so that the bigger picture falls into place organically. A run saved is a run scored, naturally enough, so even with this side, India can be competent and clinically efficient on the field. In the end, it boils down to hunger and desperation, traits they have showcased only sporadically in recent times.
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