5 best fielders the Indian cricket team has ever had

Fielding has always been an important component of cricket, and we have seen numerous cricketers over the years, such Jonty Rhodes, Ricky Ponting, and Paul Collingwood, become some of the best fielders of all time.

There have been numerous athletic players in Indian cricket who have not only delivered with bat or ball but have also performed admirably on the pitch. Below are the top five Indian cricket fielders.

#5 Robin Singh

The Trinidad-born cricketer made his India debut in 1989, although he did not become a regular member of the squad until 1996. Singh was a good all-rounder who could bat swiftly and bowl efficiently during the slog overs.

Singh’s strongest quality as a cricketer, though, was perhaps his fielding. He was a fantastic ball chaser and was always agile in the outfield. Robin Singh was one of the top fielders of his period due to his tremendous effort rate. Singh had 5 catches in his sole Test and 33 catches in ODIs.

Following his retirement from cricket, Robin Singh served as the Indian Cricket Team’s fielding coach from 2007 to 2009, as well as the batting coach of Mumbai Indians.

He also coaches the Barbados Tridents and has previously coached Bangladesh’s Khulna Division Cricket Team, Sri Lanka’s Uva Cricket Team, and the USA Women’s Team.

#4. Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh is one of the best cricketers India has ever had. He is a fantastic batter and a capable bowler, but he is also one of the most athletic fielders the country has ever seen. Yuvraj Singh, who mostly fields at point and covers, has saved several critical runs for India while also taking some spectacular catches over his career.

Yuvraj is the sixth most prolific ODI catcher in Indian history, with 94 catches. His stunning one-handed catch against Bangladesh in 2004 and his fantastic sprinting catch against South Africa in the 2002 Champions Trophy are two of his most memorable catches.

Yuvraj Singh, in addition to taking catches, has a very accurate throw and has caused numerous run-outs throughout his career, the most notable of which was his Jonty Rhodes-style run-and-throw the ball towards the stumps in the 2008 IPL, which helped his team Kings XI Punjab defeat the Mumbai Indians by a run.

#3. Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina is now one of the top fielders in the world, and with 100 catches in One-Day Internationals, he is the joint fourth highest Indian catcher in ODIs, behind Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, and Rahul Dravid.

Raina has the most T20I catches of any Indian player and is tied for ninth overall. Suresh Raina, who is very athletic on the pitch, has taken several amazing catches for India over his career, as well as assisting in a number of run-outs with his accurate throw.

Raina was the backbone of the Indian fielding unit when he was a regular on the squad, and if he returns, his presence would undoubtedly be an advantage to India’s fielding.

#2. Mohammed Kaif

The out-of-favour Indian batsman hasn’t played for the Men in Blue in almost a decade, but no one can argue that he was one of the world’s top fielders during his playing days, and most likely the best fielder India has in the limited-overs format.

Mohammed Kaif and Yuvraj Singh became one of the world’s most lethal fielding duos, always nimble on the pitch and capable of taking even the most difficult diving catches. Apart from his mobility, Kaif possessed an exceptionally precise throw that frequently found the stumps.

Kaif has taken countless spectacular catches for India, but one grab that no Indian cricket fan can forget is his magnificent diving catch to remove Shoaib Malik in the first ODI of India’s 2004 tour of Pakistan.

Malik skied a Zaheer Khan delivery in the air with Pakistan needing just 10 runs from 8 balls, and Kaif was going in from mid-off while Badani was coming in from mid-on. Kaif grabbed the ball, but a split second later, both players almost clashed, but Kaif held on and Malik was gone.

#1. Eknath Solkar

Eknath Solkar was not only India’s finest fielder, but also one of the most brave fielders in history, since he was constantly fielding near to the batsman, usually at forward short leg. Ekky’s catches were important in India’s first victory in England.

Tony Greig, a former England player and pundit who was Solkar’s colleague at Sussex, praised him as the “greatest forward short leg fielder he ever saw.” The late Eknath Solkar took 53 catches in 27 Test matches. When questioned about his superb close-range fielding, Solkar famously responded, “I merely watch the ball.” Due to a heart attack, Indian Cricket was deprived of this treasure in 2005.

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