“Fielding Coach T Dilip: Surya Excelled in Decision-Making and Awareness”

According to India’s fielding coach T Dilip, Suryakumar Yadav made the game-changing catch in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa with perfect awareness and decision-making.

With 16 runs needed from the last over, Hardik Pandya’s wide full toss was met with a dangerous blow by dangerous David Miller, but Suryakumar held steady on the ropes, collected the ball, released it as he went over the boundary ropes, and then came back in to complete an incredible catch.

“When the moment comes, it’s his decision and awareness of rope, that’s very important, and knowing with confidence that he can throw and come back, it’s a decision making at that time, and he got on to that,” Dilip told PTI Video while speaking about the catch.

Dilip, who instituted the novel practice of bestowing medals for the greatest fielding performance during training, praised the young and seasoned players for their ability to “gel well” and cited it as one of the team’s strongest attributes.

“I must give credit to the players for taking time out to come for even optional practice despite such a tight schedule. They themselves take responsibility and come for optional practice.

“Second, we all come through a system, like India A, NCA… One great thing about this squad is that there is a combination of experienced players and a combination of youth, and they really gel well together,” Dilip said after the team’s title triumph on Saturday.

The clearest example of someone who has progressed through the ranks is Dilip, who spent ten years at the National Cricket school, coached in a junior age-group program at a state cricket school, and worked as an assistant fielding coach with the now-defunct Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League.

Since taking the position, he has worked hard, and India’s on-field performance has shown it.

During daytime matches, he claimed, it is challenging to track the white ball while making high catches.

“Especially under clear sky, it becomes really difficult, and for that too we say that track the ball so that you get that much anchor point. So, if there is cloud, floodlights, then it becomes easier to track. But, definitely, it’s still not easy to track, especially for players from the sub-continent,” Dilip said.

Dilip has been employed at several ZCA (Zonal Cricket Academy) and NCA age-group camps since 2012. Having worked with several of the younger players in the national team, like Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, he has a familiarity with them.

Regarding the older players, former NCA director and departing India head coach Rahul Dravid took note of Dilip’s hard work and made sure he had regular assignments with the India A team, which would also enable him to create training plans for professional cricketers.

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