'I'll try to incorporate some of the Baseball techniques in fielding' - India's fielding coach T Dilip after attending Yankees game

India have steered into the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2024. They have three wins in as many games with one game to go in the group stages. Ahead of their upcoming game against Canada, the Men in Blue had to call off their practice session due to a non-conducive outfield at the Cantiague Park in New York. India will take on Canada on June 15 at the Central Broward Stadium in Florida in Match 33 of the T20 World Cup 2024. 

As the fielding session was called off, Team India turned their heads towards the baseball experts in New York for the fielding tips. It is a long-running debate that cricket and baseball resemble each other but the keen followers will disagree and uphold the uniqueness of each sport. India’s fielding coach, T Dilip said that although there have been talks of resemblance, he has taken cues from the baseball coaches on fielding in cricket as he has worked with them before.

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"We went for a Yankees game in New York and I thought it will be a nice opportunity to exchange some notes with their coaches. There are a lot of similarities between baseball and cricket fielding. I have worked with a baseball coach earlier. This session too was helpful and I'll try to incorporate some of the techniques,” said Dilip as quoted by The Times of India.

"If you see in football, there's something called dummy run when a footballer starts running when the ball is not with him and he meets it at the last moment, completely unnoticed by defence. In cricket too, it is important that fielders grow this sense of anticipation when somebody else is throwing. It's actually all interconnected," he added.

Bowlers come in for fielding drills after bowling long spells in the nets: Dilip

India’s fielding has significantly improved over the years and the bowlers in particular have been putting their bodies on the line while on the field. The likes of Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah have been mercurial on the turf compared to their earlier selves. Dilip asserted that the varied options provide an edge to the captain to leverage premier fielders by placing them in hotspots.

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"It lends a lot of flexibility to the captain as to where he can keep his key men. This has happened because the bowlers themselves have taken it on themselves to become better fielders. The bowlers come in for fielding drills after bowling long spell in the nets. It's heartening and something that we've been looking to develop," Dilip concluded.