Sometimes Kohli makes fielding look so easy that his work behind the scenes goes unnoticed: Dilip
T Dilip’s tenure with the Indian team saw fielding gain a renewed sense of importance, with his famous fielding medal becoming one of the most recognisable features of the dressing room.
In an exclusive conversation with Boria Majumdar, the former India fielding coach opens up on how the medal came about, and the support he received from Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid in executing the idea. He also offers insights into Virat Kohli’s approach to fielding, stressing that what can appear to be natural athleticism is backed by immense discipline and hours of work behind the scenes.
Boria: You were able to give fielding an important celebration, that perhaps is a legacy of yours. Can you comment on that?
T Dilip: I am not sure if it is a legacy but being able to provide fielding the recognition that perhaps it did not have before gives me immense satisfaction. Apart from catches and run-outs, the 1% of factors like intensity, energy, or a person diving on the boundary line in the last over, special catches, etc. are the smallest contributions that went unnoticed.
Boria: How did the idea come?
T Dilip: If I have to go back to the 2022 Asia Cup, we had back-to-back games. In one of the games we were pretty below par according to our fielding standards. In two days, same ground, same players, slightly different opposition and we were absolutely gone on the field.
I am someone who strongly believes in analysing and reviewing the performances of every game and I always wanted to create something where players look forward to in fielding and get back that energy into the dressing room. If you have seen the fielding medal, the way we presented it to different people was the same. But I was surprised to see it became a big phenomenon. I think its real credit goes to the players and their commitment. The respect they gave to that medal created its own identity.
Boria: Can you just tell me a little bit about when you proposed it?
T Dilip: I was having a chat at the breakfast table with Rohit, and I pitched in the idea that “let us try to do something for batting, bowling or fielding.” Rohit thought about it and suggested that we should go ahead with just fielding as the Man of the Match award is there for batting and bowling. Once I got the approval from Rohit, I went on to pitch to Rahul Dravid. Rahul will be absolutely on for something that will add on to the team’s benefit. I think real credit also should go to the media team, who presented the emotions to the supporters.
Boria: Take the case of Virat Kohli. Virat is a born fielder. But when someone is not a born fielder and yet he is having to play with people who are, how did you kind of balance this?
T Dilip: I would like to skip that word called born or blessed with Virat Kohli. His athleticism is always backed with the amount of discipline and hard work he shows on the field. There is absolutely no difference between the way he practises in the practice session or in the match.
I have seen him taking those catches, not only the sharp catches, but he would come five steps ahead and want those sharp catches coming his way. I think sometimes Virat makes it look so easy that his work behind the scenes goes unnoticed.
I think when I work with a team, different people give different strengths. As a coach, my job is to take the best of each individual and see where I can use it for the best interest of the team.
I think for me, as a fielding coach, I never wanted anybody to be like Virat Kohli. But I wanted everyone to be the best version of themselves.
Boria: When you take a Rohit Sharma or a Virat Kohli, unreal achievers in their own right, generation cricketers. When you are coaching them, and at the same time you have a youngster in the team, how do you keep that balance?
T Dilip: I wouldn’t look at them as individuals with ego. Rather, I would look at individuals who have achieved highest through their hard work. Different people bring different sets to the team, and that’s the beauty of working within the group. If you look at high achievers, they work extremely hard to reach where they are by knowing their own game.
(Transcribed by Simran Gupta.)
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