Former Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra isn’t holding back on India’s fielding struggles in the Asia Cup. With the high-stakes final against Pakistan looming on Sunday at Dubai International Stadium, Mishra warns the team to sharpen their catching skills fast—or risk a costly slip-up.
India’s players have had a tough time spotting the ball under Dubai’s floodlights. They’ve dropped a whopping 12 catches leading up to their Super Four clash with Sri Lanka on Friday. Captain Suryakumar Yadav brushed it off as just part of the game, while spinner Varun Chakaravarthy got more specific. Talking to reporters, Chakaravarthy admitted, “You can’t make excuses at this level. We should be taking these catches, but if you ask me about the lights, it creates rings of fire in your eyes—it’s a real disturbance.”
Mishra, though, wasn’t buying the downplay. The 42-year-old cricket veteran called out the team’s excuses and pushed for action from head coach Gautam Gambhir. He even suggested fielding coach T Dilip run dedicated sessions to help players adapt to the tricky lights. “Practice! What is the fielding coach doing?” Mishra told exclusively. “As professional cricketers, you have to grind and adjust. Sure, one or two drops happen in a match, but this is consistent. Gambhir needs to zero in on fielding.”
In T20 cricket, every dropped catch hurts, and India has been leaking three or four per game. Mishra stressed there’s no room for error in the Pakistan showdown. “Even if the lights are an issue, find a fix,” he said.
This Sunday’s final marks the third India-Pakistan clash in the tournament. India has dominated the last two, chasing down targets with ease, and they’ll aim to keep that streak alive.
India’s squad features Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, and Rinku Singh.
Pakistan’s lineup includes Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Afridi, and Sufyan Moqim.
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