India’s former fielding coach R Sridhar has put his weight behind Yashasvi Jaiswal after the youngster had a poor outing in the field in the opening Test match against England at Leeds, Headingley. Jaiswal could not grab his catches in both innings and his drop catches costed India a total of 166 runs.

The Indian opener dropped Ben Duckett on 11 in the first innings and the left-hander went on to score 62. Jaiswal once again fluffed Ollie Pope’s catch when the flamboyant right-hander was on 62 and England vice-captain then scored 106 runs. 

Ben Duckett was given another reprieve by Jaiswal in the second innings when the left-hander was on 97 and he went to score a match-winning knock of 149 runs.

“Going on the first tour to England and adapting and being a good slip fielder is not an easy task. You can practice all you want, but in the match, it’s quite challenging. The conditions are very cold, so the fingers get very numb. And secondly, the Duke’s ball wobbles a lot as it comes towards you. It’s not easy to catch,” Sridhar said on Sportstar.

Sridhar added that sighting a ball in English conditions is not easy, which makes catching difficult.

“In England, sighting is very difficult. The Oval or Leeds are two of the most challenging grounds. Leeds has a slope which runs down from the pavilion side to the Kirkstall Lane end. And it’s very windy, and that messes with your rhythm and depth perception. Even England dropped catches. It’s not always about ability – often, it’s about conditions,” he added.

Sridhar showered praise on Jaiswal for his fielding and backed the youngster to bounce back strongly.

“He’s actually an excellent gully fielder. Make no mistake. He’s had just two bad games – one in Melbourne, one here in Leeds. Otherwise, he’s been exceptional. The catches he took against Bangladesh in Kanpur were outstanding.

The second Test match between India and England will be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham from July 2nd onwards.