This Indian team has lot of T20 experience: Sridhar

Hyderabad: This will be his fourth World Cup as fielding coach (two ODIs and two T20s) in shorter formats of the game. Ramakrishnan Sridhar along with other supporting staff headed by Ravi Shastri, want to end the tournament on a high. “It will be the final hurrah. We know the conditions in the UAE. It […]

Hyderabad: This will be his fourth World Cup as fielding coach (two ODIs and two T20s) in shorter formats of the game. Ramakrishnan Sridhar along with other supporting staff headed by Ravi Shastri, want to end the tournament on a high.

“It will be the final hurrah. We know the conditions in the UAE. It is a good team of Virat Kohli, Rohit, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Bumrah, Shami and above all MS Dhoni as mentor. We have a lot of T20 experience which is a big bonus to us,’’ said the former Hyderabad left-arm spinner, who will end his stint in the Indian team after the UAE World Cup.

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From his first World Cup in 2015 till this tournament, Sridhar said there is enormous shift and he has worked a lot on the Indian fielding. “We have been working very hard to be the best outfit in the field. There is a lot of enthusiasm and eagerness among the team members to bring out the best in the field. I have also got enormous data which I have collected in the seven years and I use the technology for putting the best fielders in important positions.”

“I’m someone who has done a lot of homework. Each bowler needs a different field set and places the fielder against the batsman accordingly. We sit before the match and plan accordingly. I do have one-to-one sessions with fielders,’’ he said.

Talking about the conditions in UAE, Sridhar said: “We played in the Asia Cup here and our boys played in IPL in the UAE. The pitches are similar to India. The outfield is fast. But at Dubai International Stadium, the fielders would find some difficulty because the floodlights are very low. That is a challenging ground for fielders and we are playing most of the matches in Dubai. In Abu Dhabi, there is excellent ground. We have to address the issues accordingly. It means more of practice under the lights in Dubai.’’

Sridhar pointed out that this Indian fielding is a mixed bag. “We have excellent fielders in Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya. At the same time we have someone like Varun Chakravarthy, who is not the fastest mover on the field but he puts in 100 percent effort. Bumrah has improved a lot and his throws are very good now. The team is looking in good space. Newcomers like Ishan Kishan and Surya Yadav breathe confidence into the team.’’

The 51-year-old fielding coach reiterated that Jadeja is the best outfielder in the world. “He is fast, athletic, smart and alert on the field. He creates opportunities and creates that buzz on the field. There are other fine fielders in other teams like Glenn Maxwell. Kohli also has exceptional fielding skills. He brings that passion and intensity to the ground. No other cricketer has brought such intensity. At the same time, he is intimidating to the opposition. It helps the Indian team,’’ added Sridhar.

Sridhar revealed that the Indian team is not worried about Kohli’s form of late. “He knows what to do. He is practicing differently for this World Cup. Come the World Cup, Kohli will be a different player.’’

Although the Indian team will be eager to win the first ICC trophy under Kohli’s captaincy, Sridhar said that he was fortunate to be associated with this Indian team. “It is the best Indian team, particularly in Test cricket. For the last five years, we have been No.1 even though we lost the World Championship final to New Zealand. Of course, it will be nice if we win the ICC Trophy. This team is full of energy, passion and enthusiasm.”

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