India, the worst fielding side?

Arshdeep Singh (PC: Twitter

In the Asia Cup 2022, the defeat against Pakistan in the super four stage suddenly brought to eyes a big problem of the current Indian side in the T20I set up. The whole world witnessed the young Arshdeep Singh dropping a catch under pressure and that mistake causing his team the match. 

After the incident Arshdeep had to face a lot of bashing from the fans. But is it a singular incident? Is it only Arshdeep who needs to work on his fielding? Well, a particular data reveals otherwise. 

In 2022, India has played the most number of matches among the top 10 teams. But the concerning fact is that, in these matches they have the second least success rate of taking catches. First of all let us have a look at the records of these teams in the year 2022. 

Catches dropped per match by the teams in T20Is in 2022

Observation

As the data suggests, India has dropped the most number of catches per match in 2022. There has been a lot of talk about Indian bowlers failing the team. But the fact that is evident here is, even if the bowlers have created chances, the fielders have not supported them enough. 

A look into the number of wickets India have taken per match this season might give us a better idea. 

Wicket per Match record of the teams in T20Is in 2022

Observation

So, the Indian bowlers seem to be potent enough to be the 5th team in the number of wickets per match least, inspite of not getting the best of the support from the fielders.  

India has dropped 37 catches in 30 matches in 2022. If they would have been able to hold on to even half of those, India would have been the second team in the wickets per over match list. 

The fact that New Zealand is the team that drops the least catches and hence they are the most successful team in the second list is quite significant. 

There has always been a proverb in cricket, that 'catches win matches'. A look into the win/loss ratio of the teams will give us an idea how their fielding has affected their winning ratio. 

Top 5 teams in terms of Win/Loss ration in T20Is in 2022

So, despite the fact that India's fielding has not been upto the mark, has not held them back from winning matches. They are second most successful team of this year.

Conclusion

So, at the end of studying all the points we can say that, yes, India has dropped most catches per match this year, but they have also played way more number of matches than others. The numbers for the other teams would have read different if they had played the same number of matches. 

But, despite the fact that more chances increases the chances of errors, India should look at the matter on an immediate effect. They have to train the players so that they are able to hold on to their catches specially under pressure. 

Also Read: Myth Busters: Batters win matches