29 October,2009 08:25 AM IST | | Clayton Murzello
Does the Indian cricket team need a fielding coach? Yes, but the attitude to this critical area of the game must change. As Jonty Rhodes, arguably the best fielder to grace the game will say, you have to enjoy it thoroughly to succeed.
Yesterday's spunky performance against Australia in Nagpur notwithstanding, the grey areas cannot be ignored.
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A coach is no David Copperfield of magical fame. In fact, India's fielding worries may not have anything to do with the coach. It could well be that the fitness levels of players don't match up to international standards. And fitness is sure related to fielding.
Robin Singh got the boot as fielding coach, but has the Board questioned the coaching staff about the team's lack of alacrity on the field? The Board only recently appointed a fitness trainer for the team with Paddy Upton in charge of "mental conditioning". Does this mean the Indian team had no fitness trainer despite the presence of Upton, who served in Hansie Cronje's team as fitness expert? If so, it's disgraceful.
According to grapevine, Kirsten had a role to play in Robin Singh's sacking while there was no official reprimand for his mate Upton, who released a document to the players before the Champions Trophy in which he encouraged them to indulge in sexual activities in order to raise performance levels. In another era in Indian cricket, he would have been sent packing.
But Upton's presence could well be invaluable to the team and his mate Kirsten who recommended Upton be added on to the support staff when he took over in 2008.
Two friends working in the same cricketing set-up gives rise to some level of cynicism after watching the effects of the Greg Chappell-Ian Frazer alliance. Hopefully, the Kirsten-Upton partnership is a fruitful one.
Meanwhile, India have to get consistently good at fielding and catching. Else, their presence on the sweeter side of the rankings will only be temporary. India's last superlative fielding unit was Sunil Gavaskar's team that won the 1985 World Championship of Cricket in Australia.
However, administrators must provide better grounds for players to enhance their fielding skills. BCCI subsidiaries to state associations are always on the rise, so money shouldn't be a problem to level out playing fields. Administrators love playing mute spectators. Like the players, they too must come out of their comfort zone.
