Hang it in the Louvre – Suryakumar Yadav’s catch in the T20 World Cup final is resplendent in this tagline. It was arguably Indian cricket’s most important catch since Kapil Dev ran backwards from mid-wicket at Lord’s and grabbed the skier to dismiss Viv Richards on June 25, 1983.
First the recap: The final over of the T20 World Cup started with South Africa needing 16 runs for victory. Hardik Pandya bowled a wide fulltoss and David Miller swatted it down the ground with enough power to clear the boundary. Surya hurtled down from wide long-off, clawed down the ball, kept his feet inside the rope, lobbed the ball back into play and completed the catch.
The game completely tilted in India’s favour and amid the glorious chaos, T Dilip, India’s fielding coach, must have recollected his emotions and felt proud. He knew that the catch taken by Surya wasn’t a case in isolation. It was about hard work in training sessions coming to fruition.
Later, Dilip explained it. “If you ask about Surya’s catch, he would have taken 50 such catches in the practice sessions,” he told reporters after the final. Yes, the execution part under intense pressure was down to the fielder – Surya’s decision-making, his awareness of the rope and presence of mind. But Dilip’s fielding drills helped Indian cricketers internalise the process and gave them confidence to execute things properly in any situation.
Surya’s catch was special, but not a one-off. Some exceptional catches were taken by Indian fielders during the tournament. Axar Patel’s catch to dismiss Mitchell Marsh in the game against Australia and Kuldeep Yadav’s catch to get rid of Quinton de Kock in the final were almost equally significant.
You don’t need to be an expert on geopolitics to know that India won’t travel to Pakistan to play games in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. A hybrid hosting model, of the type used in the Asia Cup 2023, is the only solution.@BoriaMajumdar ✍️@ICC @BCCI https://t.co/kPtSGnOVNs
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) July 12, 2024
“His (Dilip) fielding drills are excellent,” a team insider told RevSportz. During his two-and-a-half-year stint with the Indian team, Dilip broke the stereotype that one has to play the game at a decent level to become a successful coach. The 44-year-old from Hyderabad never played first-class cricket, but under him, India became a ‘gun’ fielding unit.
This begs the question, should the BCCI retain him even under new head coach Gautam Gambhir? Usually, the cricket board allows the head coach to handpick his support staff and Gambhir reportedly has a preference for Jonty Rhodes or Ryan ten Doeschate. The new India coach and Rhodes worked together at Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, while he collaborated with ten Doeschate at Kolkata Knight Riders.
However, it is learnt that the BCCI prefers to keep an all-Indian support staff, which has been the norm over the last seven-eight years. And it is widely believed that Dilip is the best man for the job, should he reapply. “Dilip is one of the best in the business,”said a former cricketer on condition of anonymity. “Removing him would be a mistake.”
A member from the previous coaching staff continuing with the new head coach is not new. Vikram Rathour joined the Indian team as batting coach under Ravi Shastri, and he continued under Rahul Dravid as well. According to sources, Rathour might take over from VVS Laxman as the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy when the latter’s term ends in September. But as regards the fielding coach, Dilip’s popularity in the dressing room is another reason why the BCCI should strongly consider his case.
He is liked and trusted by the players and as the saying goes – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.