Former Indian fielding coach T Dilip shared how legendary India captain Rohit Sharma helped create the ‘fielding medal’ during the 2022-23 season. He started a ceremony to reward the best fielder of the match in the presence of all the players and the support staff as well. With the BCCI backing the initiative and sharing videos of the award ceremony, India’s fielding standards evolved dramatically during the period. It also played an important role in their back-to-back T20 World Cup triumphs in 2024 and 2026 as well.
“It was during the Asia Cup that the idea first came to me, and I remember taking it to captain Rohit Sharma over breakfast. I had originally envisaged medals for all departments – batting, bowling and fielding – and proposed the idea to Rohit. It was Rohit who suggested that batting and bowling always get recognised with the Player of the Match award, so it was important that we do something for fielding. That’s when we zeroed in on the fielding medal,” he said on RevSportz.
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“The first day when we presented the medal is always going to be very special for me. It was something new, and none of us knew whether it would work. That the medal now has a life of its own makes the first day a cherished memory,” he further added.
However, T Dilip also credited former head coach Rahul Dravid for willingly approving the fielding award concept once Rohit Sharma refined the idea. The trio were present to oversee India’s incredible runs in back-to-back World Cups
in 2023 and 2024, where they suffered only one defeat. However, India lost the 2023 ODI World Cup final following 10 consecutive wins and won the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA as well.
“We went to Rahul Dravid, the head coach, and Rahul bhai, as always, was hugely supportive of the idea. For Rahul bhai, it was always team first, and this fitted in very well with his vision. However, I have to say none of us thought that it would become as big,” concluded T Dilip.
