Jaiswal receives ex-India fielding coach's backing despite dropped catches at Headingley: 'He's had just two bad games'

Former India fielding coach R Sridhar has come to Yashasvi Jaiswal’s defence with the young opener facing a barrage of criticism for his poor fielding in the first Test against England in Leeds. Opening batter Jaiswal began his maiden tour of England with a bang, bringing up a century along with captain Shubman Gill on the very first day to help the visitors reach a dominant 359/3 at stumps.

Things, however, started going downhill for Jaiswal from thereon at Headingley, with the 23-year-old not only getting dismissed early in the second innings but also dropping as many as four catches in the next four days. That included a lifeline to Ben Duckett off Mohammed Siraj’s bowling at a crucial stage of England’s chase of the 371-run target .

Poor fielding ended up costing Team India the series opener along with batting collapses and some ordinary bowling from those other than star pacer Jasprit Bumrah as England went 1-0 up in the five-match series with a five-wicket victory.

Sridhar comes to Jaiswal’s defence after Headingley loss

However, Sridhar, who was the fielding coach of the Indian team from 2014 to 2021, came to Jaiswal’s defence by stating that the tough weather conditions in Leeds made it difficult for him to hold on to catches.

“He’s actually an excellent gully fielder. Make no mistake. He’s had just two bad games - one in Melbourne, one here in Leeds. Otherwise, he’s been exceptional. The catches he took against Bangladesh in Kanpur were outstanding. It’s easy to sit in the commentary box and criticise, but these are challenging conditions, and for many of them, it’s their first experience of this environment,” Sridhar told Sportstar.

While the spotlight was firmly on Jaiswal as far as fielding at Headingley was concerned, he wasn’t the only one putting down chances, with a gun fielder like Ravindra Jadeja spilling a catch at backward point on Day 2 and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant missing an opportunity later in the game.

The Englishmen were also guilty of putting down chances, with Duckett and Harry Brook dropping Sai Sudharsan and centurion KL Rahul respectively during India’s second innings.

Sridhar, however, wasn’t happy with India’s ground fielding at Headingley, which he feels is something that is in a player’s control unlike catching.

“The standard of ground fielding which is exhibited is not acceptable. Unlike catching, ground fielding is something which is totally in your control. You should know which ball to put your body behind, which ball to attack, which ball to play safe,” Sridhar added.

The second Test between India and England gets underway on 2 July at Edgbaston, Birmingham, where the Shubman Gill-led side will be eyeing a series-leveling win.