The fielding medal has been a fascinating addition to Indian cricket and has made for some great storytelling. While it is known that T Dilip, the team’s fielding coach at the time, came up with the idea in 2022-23, what is less known is how Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid also played a role in shaping it and how it soon became an integral part of Indian cricket.
T Dilip, in an interview with RevSportz, detailed the story of how it all happened.
“It was during the Asia Cup that the idea first came to me, and I remember taking it to captain Rohit Sharma over breakfast. I had originally envisaged medals for all departments – batting, bowling and fielding – and proposed the idea to Rohit. It was Rohit who suggested that batting and bowling always get recognised with the Player of the Match award, so it was important that we do something for fielding. That’s when we zeroed in on the fielding medal.
“Thereafter, we went to Rahul Dravid, the head coach, and Rahul bhai, as always, was hugely supportive of the idea,” said Dilip. “For Rahul bhai, it was always team first, and this fitted in very well with his vision. However, I have to say none of us thought that it would become as big. Credit also goes to the BCCI media team for documenting the presentations and showcasing them in the most beautiful manner. Now every player looks forward to this, and it has added a new element to the dressing room.”
While we have all celebrated the fielding medal for a while now, it was not really known that the original idea was refined by Rohit and that is how the medal actually came into being.
“The first day when we presented the medal is always going to be very special for me,” added Dilip. “It was something new, and none of us knew whether it would work. That the medal now has a life of its own makes the first day a cherished memory.”
Dilip also spoke about Suryakumar Yadav’s catch in the 2024 T20 World Cup final and the way he reacted to it, Axar Patel’s catch in Mumbai in March 2026, what it was like when catches were dropped, how Virat Kohli trained the hardest to be able to take impossible catches, and much more.
Full interview coming soon on RevSportz.
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