Picture Credit: TNCA
R Sridhar, whose stint with Team India as their fielding coach recently came to an end, has spoken at length about the fielding skills of the two great batters that the Indian cricket team is blessed with- them being Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Apart from scoring tons of runs in possibly every batting condition both are great fielders and have proved to be assets to the team owing to their fielding skills.
In his explanation, Sridhar points out that while Virat could intimidate the opposition batters with his intensity in a position like the short cover of midwicket, The Hitman is more of a natural fielder especially at the slips where has taken several commendable catches.
Virat, Rohit India's best slip fielders: R Sridhar
"They (Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma) are, indeed [India’s best slip fielders]. But let me say they are two very different kind of athletes. Virat is extremely fit and agile and was always a very good outfielder. Initially, we used his energy in front of the batsman’s eyes, say like in short cover or short mid-wicket because with his intensity he could literally intimidate the batters," Sridhar told Economic Times.
"But over time, and this was also because he was a certainty in the team, we wanted him to stand in the slips… He can come down really quick and has done a lot of work on his concentration and focus. Now you can see him go for the half-chances and pluck them more often than not," he added.
Rohit is called sticky fingers in the dressing room: Sridhar
Sridhar further revealed that the India T20I skipper is nicknamed "sticky fingers" in the dressing room. This is due to his ability to hold on to chances that look difficult.
"Rohit, on the other hand, is a natural (slip fielder). We call him sticky fingers in the dressing room. At the same time, he works very hard on his slip catching and takes around 60 to 80 catches during each session to improve his slip catching," he asserted.
Since Sridhar's departure, it is T Dilip who has taken over as the new fielding coach and their first assignment is the ongoing home series against New Zealand.