Nottingham: Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa attracted unwarranted attention for using hand-warmers during the World Cup game against India but even the ‘Men in Blue’ use the same equipment to beat the biting cold.
When Zampa was seen using hand-warmers, the social media, especially the Indian fans, went on an overdrive, accusing the Australian of indulging in ball tampering.
Skipper Aaron Finch was forced to clarify the use of hand warmers at the post-match interaction that it is a part of cricketing equipment when players need to keep their hands warm in cooler confines to get the feel back in hands.
Asked how a fielding unit prepares for cold conditions, India’s fielding coach R Sridhar replied, “I think hand-warmers are obviously the first option to keep your hands warm. There are other options like running from one fielding position to another or throwing the ball around.”
Sridhar added: “That also keeps you warm between overs and doesn’t allow your body to cool down. Also, we practice in the same weather, so that also gives us a heads up.”
The Indian fielding coach was quick to point out that post-recovery from the hairline fracture on his thumb, Shikhar Dhawan might find it a huge challenge to field in the slips.
Since Dhawan is a natural right-hander, batting should not be a major concern post his recovery from the thumb injury but it remains to be assessed if he can stand in the slip region, where the ball travels at high speed.
“Throwing won’t be a problem, but definitely there will be impact while fielding and catching, especially (since) he’s a slip fielder. If you know, he stands in the slips in the initial phase of the innings that can be an issue. We’ll test him out with lighter balls first and gradually move on to the cricket ball and see how it goes from there, but, yeah, that will be a challenge,” Sridhar informed.
“Once we assess him, probably on 10th or 12th day, we’ll have to look – it’s his bottom hand (left) while batting. It’s not his dominant hand because he’s a (natural) right-hander,” added Sridhar.
PTI