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India has a concerning statistic to their name in ODIs ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at home from October 5 onwards, as they have the second-lowest catch efficiency among the top 10 ranked teams since the 2019 edition of World Cup in England.
During the start of India's crucial Asia Cup clash against Nepal, the Indian team dropped some easy catches. Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, among India's best and most agile fielders and wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan, dropped these catches. India's catch efficiency of 75.1 per cent places them at number nine, just above the bottom-placed Afghanistan, which has a catching efficiency of 71.2 per cent. England sits at the top with a catch efficiency of 82.8 per cent, followed by the current number one ODI side Pakistan (81.6 per cent) and New Zealand (80.9 per cent) at second and third positions. Sri Lanka is at the fourth spot with 78.8 per cent catch efficiency, followed by Australia at the fifth spot with 78.5 per cent. At number six is West Indies with 77.9 per cent, which did not even qualify for the ODI World Cup this year. Bangladesh, at seventh with 75.8 per cent and South Africa at eighth with 75.1 per cent are also placed above Men in Blue. While India has some of the most fearsome batters/bowlers like skipper Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja etc, they will have to better their fielding in order to have a better chance at World Cup, since saving those extra 20-30 runs will keep them at advantage. India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bowl against Nepal in the Group A Asia Cup clash on Monday at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. This clash will decide the fate of Group A as both teams can qualify for the Super 4 with a victory. Nepal got hammered by Pakistan in the opening game of the Asia Cup, while India's clash with their arch-rival was washed out due to rain. Pakistan has qualified to the next stage with three points, while India (1 point) and Nepal (0 points) have to win this match. India(Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj Nepal (Playing XI): Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh(w), Rohit Paudel(c), Bhim Sharki, Sompal Kami, Gulsan Jha, Dipendra Singh Airee, Kushal Malla, Sandeep Lamichhane, Karan KC, Lalit Rajbanshi. (ANI)
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