We Had Created A Culture Of Fielding : Suresh Raina
If you hit one stump with direct throw, you will only make the playing XI, Suresh Raina reacted on Mohammad Kaif's challenge to his UP teammates
In the latest episode of JioHotstar special 'Cheeky Singles', JioStar experts Mohammad Kaif and Suresh Raina shared stories about creating a culture of fielding during their UP days, the collision incident with Irfan Pathan during a game in Australia and the greatness of Sachin Tendulkar as a fielder.
Speaking on JioHotstar's 'Cheeky Singles', JioStar expert Suresh Raina looked back on how the culture of fielding that was created helped him become an outstanding fielder:
We had created a culture of fielding. All the players used to come in half an hour early because fielding was always the first part of our training sessions. It wasn't like many fielding sessions today, where you take a few catches and feel the job is done. Back then, we would practise high catches separately, do ground fielding separately, slip catches separately and parallel catches. We would also place a single stump in the middle. As Kaif bhai was always our UP captain, he used to say, 'You'll only make the playing XI if you hit the stump with a direct throw.'"
On learning the ropes of fielding from the likes of Jonty Rhodes, Kaif and Yuvraj Singh:
"It's always special to be appreciated by Jonty Rhodes, who has always been our idol. In UP, I learned so much from Kaif bhai and otherwise, Yuvraj Singh, because they used to field at point and cover, while I stayed at mid-off. In all the matches we played for India together, we never let the ball go past us!"
On the collision incident in Australia with Irfan Pathan:
"I remember a match in Sydney during our tour of Australia. Jadeja was bowling when David Warner played a sweep shot and got a top edge. I was stationed at mid-wicket, while Irfan bhai started running in from fine leg. As I ran, I was only watching the ball. I had no idea where Irfan bhai was. All I could see was the ball, the lights, the crowd and the tricolour flags behind it. As soon as I completed the catch, I collided with Irfan bhai. For a split second, I thought that if my head had hit his body, either he would have been seriously hurt or I would have. Thankfully, only my shoulder hit him and I held on to the catch. Irfan bhai, however, suffered a rib fracture. He was badly hurt, and that taught us an important lesson, whoever's catch it is, should call."
Speaking on JioHotstar's 'Cheeky Singles', JioStar expert Mohammad Kaif recalled what made legendary Sachin Tendulkar such a special fielder:
"Sachin paaji was a formidable fielder. We often remember diving catches, like Jonty Rhodes' famous dive, but the amount of ground Sachin paaji covered just by running was outstanding. The man had a proper routine. There wasn't a single net session where he didn't practise fielding. He played for India for 24 years, and do you remember him dropping catches? There may have been one or two on rare occasions, but otherwise he was an exceptionally safe fielder, whether in the slips or at cover, and he had a rocket arm. People talk about Jadeja's throwing arm, but Sachin paaji's was even more powerful."
