Ravichandran Ashwin forgets all Indian teammates after Chennai Test; credits this member instead
Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin showered praise on India's fielding coach T Dilip following the commanding victory over Bangladesh in the first Test.
Ravichandran Ashwin said that T Dilip played a crucial role in improving the team's fielding standards, especially catching in the slip cordon.
Dilip replaced R Sridhar as India's fielding coach during Team India's last coaching transition in 2021.
He has been instrumental in improving the team's fielding and introduced a fielding medal. New head coach Gautam Gambhir continued with Dilip in the same role with the national cricket team.
T Dilip Isn't An Internet Personality - Ravichandran Ashwin
Speaking to the press after India's 280-run win over Bangladesh, Ravichandran Ashwin credited T Dilip for developing good close-in fielders like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan. Ashwin added that the young players' hard work was evident in their fielding during the first Test.
"If you want to talk about fielding, where should we start? Let's talk about Dilip sir first. Actually, we’d searched for our fielding coach on Google and he turned out to be an internet personality. So unfair,” Ashwin said.
“He is not an internet personality. He is our celebrity fielding coach, a superstar,” Ashwin added.
Yashasvi Jaiswal impressed with his fielding during the first Test match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. He made a brilliant low catch in the gully to dismiss Bangladesh opener Zakir Hasan. Jaiswal also took another sharp catch at short-leg in Ravichandran Ashwin’s over on Sunday.
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Jasprit Bumrah with the first breakthrough as Yashasvi Jaiswal takes a brilliant catch to dismiss Zakir Hasan.
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Yashasvi Jaiswal Has Shown Improvement - Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin was also impressed with Yashasvi Jaiswal's improvement as a reliable slip fielder. Ashwin said that Jaiswal can be an alternative to KL Rahul in the second slip. The 38-year-old also credited fielding coach T Dilip and added that his contributions often go unrecognized.
“Slip catching was a bit of a challenge a year or two ago. But Jaiswal has shown improvement in slip-catching in the last year or two from the series in South Africa. He has made a very good catch here at the second slip as well,” Ashwin said.
“KL Rahul is an amazing fielder in second slip. And he (Jaiswal) was able to replace him in the second slip. So, according to me, they worked very hard.
“Close-in catching, in places like short-leg, is a very difficult thing. You don't get good fielders like this. Jaiswal himself volunteers and stands up. He also does head-to-head work. So, all in all, we didn't get to see Dilip Sir's name not getting mentioned more prominently,” he added.
T Dilip introduced the "Best Fielder" medal to reward exceptional fielding performances after each match during the ODI World Cup 2023 at home. Notably, Suryakumar Yadav made an iconic catch that was crucial in securing India's second T20 World Cup title under Dilip's tenure as fielding coach.
The Rohit Sharma-led team aims to maintain its good fielding and catching performance as they prepare for nine Test matches over the next four months, including a five-match series in Australia. The second Test is scheduled to take place at Green Park in Kanpur, starting on September 27.
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