IND vs SL: We haven't fielded well, taken enough catches, admits Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara, who has been the latest edition to India's ever-changing slip cordon, acknowledged that as an area of concern that requires rectifying. "To be honest, we haven't fielded well, I would accept that. We haven't taken enough catches, so we are trying to figure out options," said Pujara. At least three catches were put down at second slip in the first innings at the Kotla, and on all three occasions, a different fielder was stationed in that position. First it was Shikhar Dhawan, late on Day Two, followed by Virat Kohli almost immediately after, and finally Rohit Sharma on the third day.

Cheteshwar Pujara

"There have been injuries where openers have missed out. Someone like Murali Vijay, who used to field at first slip, had injury and wasn't playing cricket for about six months, so we had to replace him with someone. There have been instances when batsmen (slip fielders) have got injured and we've had to replace them," he explained.With a string of overseas tours lined up over the next 18 months, Pujara admitted that India would need a settled slip cordon."We will assign a few players who will be there throughout the away series. We'll prepare few players who will be standing in the slips. We will also discuss it when we reach South Africa, but we have already started to talk about it," said Pujara.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here

Download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go