The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has already halfway through and the still the level of competition in increasing every single night. Batsmen are scoring more, bowlers are being more aggressive and fielding has become one of the most crucial parts for the franchises as they are not backing away from getting involved in some ‘unfair practices’ to get the upper hand in the 40-over face-offs.
According to Delhi Capitals’ assistant coach Mohammad Kaif, IPL teams like Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and scoreboard leaders, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) have been bringing in fitter, more agile fielders to replace poor fielders during the matches and that the umpires have failed to spot it out.
ALSO READ: Virat Kohli Could Soon Be Landing In A Huge Trouble
During a recent media interaction, Kaif said, “It is right that most matches are finishing close to midnight. Teams are bringing in good fielders and replacing them with slow ones. I think the umpires should look at the changes that the teams are making. For example, DC versus KKR match, (Andrew) Russell went out, Rinku Singh came to the field. Piyush Chawla quickly bowled his four overs and went out and Rinku again came back.”
He further added, “We have seen that in the last Punjab game as well. Sarfaraz Khan didn’t come to the field after being hit on the gloves. I don’t know if he is injured. Karun Nair came to the field and he took a good catch at long on of Ingram,” Kaif explained further.
Kaif has always been known for recognizing the fielding talents and appreciating them and he feels that such unfair practices must be stopped with immediate effect as it is against the spirit of the game. He feels that the franchises are playing smart and making changes which are not right to him. He also said that they will bring it up with the umpires.
ALSO READ: Sanjay Manjrekar Takes A ‘Three-dimensional’ Dig At MSK Prasad
Slow over rate is another problem that irks the DC coach. Multiple cases have already come to the league officials’ notice and the decision-makers have already fined Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Mumbai Indians (MI) skippers Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma with ₹12 lakh each.
