Fielding coach proud of colts
A lot of coaches from different teams said that India are the best fielding side in the tournament. ABHAY Sharma,
Shubman Gill held on to a skier in the semi- final against Pakistan. Harvik Desai took an absolute screamer and Shiva Singh pulled off a stunning run- out in the final against Australia. While head coach Rahul Dravid admitted that India did not play their best cricket in the ICC 2018 Under- 19 Cricket World Cup final against Australia, Prithvi Shaw & Co. were one of the best fielding sides in the tournament.
India colts’ fielding coach, Abhay Sharma, who has also worked with the senior team, spoke on various topics. Excerpts:
On improvements over the years: You can see the difference in the last couple of years. We have been really improving in all stages; right from under- 19, under- 23, India A and the senior team. A lot of skill work is going on. But at this level, we work more on their mindset because that is more important. They are kids, there is energy and we have to channelise that with a little bit of skill work. So, that’s what we were focusing on. Definitely, there was a lot of improvement. The credit goes to our trainers, physio and all the support staff.
On some of the highlights of India’s campaign: I can proudly say that there were a lot of good catches by our boys in the tournament. The one taken by Shivam Mavi at the boundary ( against Pakistan in the semifinal) and Harvik’s effort, Aryan Juyal’s catch in the first game against Australia, Prithvi Shaw ( in the semifinal) and Shubman Gill ( in the semifinal where he ran backwards and behind the head) were some of the brilliant catches. Whenever the ball was in the air, the mindset was to go for it. In the final, Shiva Singh just lost one catch, but he created a run- out opportunity. Whatever the opportunity is, we will go for it and if you don’t achieve that success, try and look for the next opportunity. So, we are working on different skills like attempting a catch and attempting a run out on the second attempt also. So, we are way ahead of our plan.
Is it fair to say that this was one of the better fielding units in the tournament? Yes. The way the boys have worked during the camps and the preparations and the improvement they have shown during the tournament. A lot of coaches from different teams — Australia, Bangladesh and even England — said that India are the best fielding side in the tournament. So, that was a very proud moment for me as a fielding coach.
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India U- 19 fielding coach