Former India player Irfan Pathan slammed the team’s ongoing fielding mishaps during the Asia Cup 2025 campaign. After a difficult outing against Pakistan in the Super 4 stage, they had a similar struggle during their win over Bangladesh as well.

“Another concern for Team India, I know the boys work hard in training, and so does the fielding coach, but the team are making a lot of mistakes. You cannot drop this many catches. Even in the last match four chances were dropped. In this game, two catches were dropped in an over, if it was any other team, it would have punished you. You dropped Saif twice, who was set after scoring a 50, any other day, this would come back to bite you,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.

Team India pacer Jasprit Bumrah was criticised for his poor bowling display against Pakistan, where he conceded 45 runs without any wickets as well.

“Big players will have an off-day now and then, but they know to make a comeback. The batters were unable to understand what Bumrah was bowling. In middle overs you get the safest bank in Kuldeep Yadav. But who impressed me the most was Varun Chakaravarthy. He got hit for 13 runs in the powerplay, but he made a comeback after that,” he said.

However, Team India leg-spinner Varun Chakaravarthy admitted that they need to make significant improvements in fielding.

“You can’t give excuses at this level. As a team, we have to definitely start taking those catches. The ring of fire [floodlights] is definitely a little bit of a disturbance and we have to get acclimatized to it. This team has been picked for a mission – the upcoming World Cup. So, we have to pick up our fielding. The fielding coach will have lots to say. Last match, he didn’t say much, but this match I think he’ll have lots to say. I was just keeping it the same. Initially, the ball was skidding on. As the ball started getting older, I started getting more purchase from the wicket. But, they definitely played me well in the powerplay,” he concluded.