'While playing for India he needs to be sharper on the field' - Mohammad Kaif urges Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to improve his fielding

Mohammad Kaif stressed that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi needs to improve his fielding skills if he wants to get into the Indian team. The former India cricketer, who was one of the best fielders of his time, highlighted instances of Sooryavanshi and Yash Raj Punia erring in the field in the Rajasthan Royals' (RR) clash against the Delhi Capitals (DC) on Sunday, May 17, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

In a high-scoring clash, the Capitals chased down a 194-run target with five wickets and four balls to spare. This defeat makes the Royals' path to the playoffs much more difficult than it already was. The Capitals, on the other hand, remain in contention to progress to the next phase of the tournament, but they will need quite a few results to go in their favour in the other matches.

The criticism from Kaif came after a moment in the match where Sooryavanshi couldn't stop a boundary off Axar Patel’s shot against Yash Raj Punja while fielding at deep fine-leg. The incident followed a lapse in the field by Yash Raj, who failed to hold on to a catch when KL Rahul was on nought.

“It’s painful to watch the fielding in this IPL. Today Yash Raj dropped KL when he was on zero. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi too misfielded. The young boy hasn’t taken a catch this season," Kaif wrote on his 'X' (formerly Twitter) handle after the Rajasthan Royals’ clash against Delhi Capitals.

“While playing for India he needs to be sharper on the field. It is the duty of coaches to teach youngsters fielding skills. On their part, the boys should enjoy fielding and take pride in it,” Kaif added, stressing the importance of fielding discipline at the highest level.

While there are question marks around Sooryavanshi's fielding acumen, there is no doubt about his batting talent and exemplary six-hitting ability. On Sunday, he scored a quickfire 46 off 21 balls, belting five sixes and three fours. After the IPL, Sooryavanshi will represent India A in a tri-series featuring Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A. This contest will be held in the Island Nation.