India are No. 1 in T20Is, and they also won the T20 World Cup in 2026. But the ongoing series vs West Indies confirmed something that many feared. Abhishek Sharma dropping a catch in the 3rd game was proof that India's catching in the shortest format was not up to the mark.

How Bad Is It?

The numbers are proof. India's catching efficiency is 74.4% in 2026, the second worst among full members. They have dropped as many as 55 chances in 32 games and taken 160. One cannot always get away with such lapses on the field.

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How Worse Did It Get?

To show how bad things have become, a look at the previous calendar years proves it. It was 80.4% in 2024, then became 79.8% in 2025, and now is 74.4%. Former Indis fielding coach R Sridhar is not impressed as he aired his concerns while speaking to Sony Sports Network.

What Is R Sidhar Saying?

“I think fielding has now definitely taken a backseat in terms of application and in terms of building a certain culture. There is a clear culture in the way the Indian team is batting. And similarly, there's a clear culture in the way the Indian team is bowling, especially in the ODIs, where Shubman Gill likes tall, hit-the-deck fast bowlers. But whereas in fielding, that (the culture) seems to be absent,” he said.

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“And what is really worrying is that the new kids coming into the squad are undercooked. Whoever is coming in, they don't seem to be the kind of fielder a Kohli is or even a Surya or even a Shreyas, the generation of that block, I'm saying, because they seem to have been brought up on only one skill, that is, batting. So that's a bit of a worrying factor, but that is not for the Indian team to worry. That is for the entire ecosystem to wake up and smell the coffee. So there are a lot of things to be done, but the fielding coach will have a job on his hands to train these young guns straight away,” he added.

“In coaching, one size doesn't fit all. You need to understand the person behind the player and have a different strategy for all of them. Understand their workload, understand what they are going through emotionally with their performances, and bring them to the best possible place. Coach the face, not the symptom,” he also said.