MIAMI: The Indian batters haven't had the best practice while the conditions have been helpful for the bowlers. The worst affected have been the fielding unit, who couldn't put in any serious practice in New York due to the bumpy nature of the Cantiague Park surface, the training venue in New York.
But that didn't stop the Indian team to take some fielding tips from baseball experts in New York, something that fielding coach T Dilip feels will be crucial for the team getting better on the field.
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"We went for a
Yankees game
in New York and I thought it will be a nice opportunity to exchange some notes with their coaches. There are a lot of similarities between baseball and cricket fielding," Dilip said on a sultry Miami afternoon, as the Indian practice session got cancelled due to bad outfield conditions following incessant rains.
Dilip feels that "baseball and cricket are not completely same" but there's a lot to learn from their experts, especially regarding techniques in running back, taking catches and push in the flat throws from the deep. "I have worked with a baseball coach earlier. This session too was helpful and I'll try to incorporate some of the techniques."
The fielding coach also informed that the football drills that the team does everyday is not just about getting loose. "If you see in football, there's something called dummy run when a footballer starts running when the ball is not with him and he meets it at the last moment, completely unnoticed by defence.
In cricket too, it is important that fielders grow this sense of anticipation when somebody else is throwing. It's actually all interconnected," Dilip said.
While learning new techniques is an add-on, bowlers fielding in "hotspots" is also a crucial addition to India's fielding. It can mean that somebody like a
Jasprit Bumrah
can field inside the ring while a
Virat Kohli
or a
Ravindra Jadeja
, who has a superb throwing arm, can man the boundaries in the closing stages.
"It lends a lot of flexibility to the captain as to where he can keep his key men. This has happened because the bowlers themselves have taken it on themselves to become better fielders. "The bowlers come in for fielding drills after bowling long spell in the nets. It's heartening and something that we've been looking to develop," Dilip said.
While the fielding conditions haven't been the best here, the coach insisted that they have tried to adapt as a unit and deal with the situation. "The ball being slow on the outfield (as has been the case in the US) can be an added advantage for the fielders. You can actually attack the ball because you know that it won't reach the fence easily.
"We have been trying to do that as a group and it has worked well till now," Dilip said.
English (US) ·