IND v AUS 2020: 'Indian fielders haven't asked the fielding coach to deliver the right practice' - Brad Hogg
Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg has opined that the Indian players need to own the responsibility of doing proper fielding drills during practice to hone their catching skills.
He made this observation while responding to fan questions in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
Brad Hogg was asked if India's fielding coach should take responsibility for the poor fielding on display. He responded that the coach cannot do everything, and it is the player's duty to ensure that they put in the hard yards while practicing their fielding.
"The fielding coach can only do so much. It is upto the players to take responsibility for the way they train and practice and for the way they prepare for the conditions in the middle," Hogg said.
Brad Hogg added that fielders should position themselves in areas they would be asked to field during the match, and get accustomed to the background by taking a variety of catches.
"You have got to get out there and think about the positions that Virat Kohli is going to put you in and get there and take different types of catches with the backgroud of the stands in those areas," he added.
Brad Hogg believes the players and the coach should share the responsibility of practice during training
Brad Hogg highlighted the Indian fielders need to ask the fielding coach to give them the appropriate practice.
"So, I don't think the Indian fielders have prepared well enough and haven't asked the fielding coach to deliver the right practice. It's something the players need to take responsibility for," he said.
He added that the responsibility lies with the players to ensure that they follow the intense routines prescribed by the coaches.
"The coach can put all the skills or the exercises in place but if you don't train and put yourself under pressure as though you are going to be in the game, you are going to drop the catches," he added.
Brad Hogg signed off by stating the fielding coach has to take equal responsibility to ensure that the players display the required intensity during the practice sessions.
"Actually, thinking about it a little bit more, it is the coach's responsibility because he hasn't put the players under pressure," he signed off.
The Indian team was regarded as one of the best fielding sides in world cricket a couple of years back, especially in the limited-overs format of the game. But their standards seem to have plummeted since then, with dropped catches and misfields becoming the norm.
The Indian fielders fluffed multiple chances in the white-ball series against Australia, and the trend continued in the Adelaide Test as well. Prithvi Shaw, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mayank Agarwal put down catches that should be held at this level, with Wriddhiman Saha spilling a couple of tough chances.
These dropped catches went on to haunt the Indian team in the end as Tim Paine and Marnus Labuschagne made the most of their chances. The Indian first-innings lead would have been more substantial if they had held on to these chances, and the result of the match could have been different.