Suryakumar Yadav & Co told to fix ‘one concern’ ahead of IND vs ENG T20 World Cup semis; ‘happening for almost a year’

India's fielding standards have come under severe criticism in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026, especially after Abhishek Sharma dropped two sitters against West Indies in their final Super 8 clash at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Abhishek's lapses took India to 13 dropped catches in the tournament so far, something the Men in Blue will quicky like to address.

With India statistically ranked as the worst catching side of the T20 World Cup 2026, fielding remains an area of concern for Suryakumar Yadav-led side as they take the field against England in an all-important semifinal in Mumbai on Thursday. Notably, India's catching efficiency is only 71.7%—72.7% in the ongoing tournament.

Ahead of the 2022 semifinal repeat, former India cricketer Parthiv Patel hailed India's solid line-up but emphasized on the need for improvement on the field which has been India's negative point for a year and half. Obviously, against England, India will have to be at the top of their game," Patel said on a JioStar show before the crunch game.

“One concern I feel is the fielding and not just the way India fielded in the game at Eden Gardens. It has been happening for almost a year and a half. We are dropping quite a few catches. That is something India would definitely like to work on,” added the former India wicketkeeper.

India need early wickets: Parthiv Patel

Before the start of the tournament, India were on a high, especially with the 250-plus scores. However, things turned out to be different as the Men in Blue had to sweat it out en route to their semifinal qualification. On the other hand, England have been unstoppable too.

After their scare against Nepal in the group stages, the Harry Brook-led side have improved game by game and will pose a serious threat to the defending champions. Patel reminded that India need to get early wickets. “India obviously need to get England's batters out as quickly as possible.

“You have Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, who is due for runs and likes the Wankhede Stadium. Then you have Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Jacob Bethell and Harry Brook. So, they have a good, solid line-up,” added Patel.

Morne Morkel admits to India's poor fielding

India's bowling coach Morne Morkel admitted to India's poor fielding and did not dwell on what has happened before. "Obviously, fielding is something that we speak about a lot. I think at times we're guilty; we're giving away maybe 15-20 runs in the field. That's one aspect that we keep on working on and asking the guys to really step up on.

"If we can get the right players in those positions, hopefully we can take the catches," Morkel said on the eve of the game. "In terms of learning, there's always learning and growth that we take, but especially looking at this game here, we don't want to over-analyse too much of the past games played. I think for us it's just focusing on what we've got in front of us, and we have to be at our best tomorrow to beat England," added the South African.

Catch the live action of the T20 World Cup 2026 with the complete T20 World Cup 2026 Schedule, and the T20 World Cup 2026 Points Table. Also, know who are currently leading the charts for Most Runs in T20 World Cup 2026 and Most Wickets in T20 World Cup 2026.