‘I can question Varun Chakaravarthy’s fielding position’ – Former India coach’s massive statement ahead of IND vs ENG semifinal

Former India fielding coach R Sridhar shared his views on Varun Chakaravarthy’s lapse in the field in the first innings of India’s crucial Super 8 clash against the West Indies. The mystery spinner erred while fielding and missed a relatively easy chance to affect a run-out when the West Indies openers were batting at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

The incident happened in the third over. Roston Chase hit a drive off Arshdeep Singh’s bowling and Chakaravarthy managed to cut it off at cover. The Caribbean batter had a miscommunication with non-striker Shai Hope as he was trying to take a quick single. Both batters were stranded at the same end and all Chakaravarthy needed to do was to throw the ball to wicketkeeper Sanju Samson to affect a run-out. However, he threw to the wrong end, giving Chase a chance to get back to his crease.

After this early reprieve, Chase and Hope went on to add another 55 runs. While India won the match, such lapses in the field could cost them in the semi-final against England, which is set to be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, March 5.

Sridhar refused to blame Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav for putting Chakaravarthy, who isn’t one of the better fielders in the team, at cover, which is where a lot of balls are hit in T20 cricket. The 55-year-old asserted that Chakaravarthy has improved his fielding but in that moment, he made an error.

“From the outside, I can question Varun’s fielding position, but perhaps against that batter and Arshdeep Singh, it was considered a safer option compared to deep square leg, deep mid-wicket, or short fine leg. Obviously, someone as sharp as Suryakumar Yadav would not make such elementary errors in positioning the wrong fielder in the wrong place,” Sridhar said in an interview with Revsportz.

“Varun is also a much-improved fielder compared to earlier, but the occasion may simply have got to him. I think Varun was in the right place. That was just a poor piece of fielding,” he added.