Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir has defended Yashasvi Jaiswal as the youngster has come under fire for dropping multiple catches during the team’s defeat to England in the first Test at Headingly. Indian fielders had a horrible game, collectively dropping seven crucial catches in the match.

Yashasvi Jaiswal was the biggest culprit as he alone dropped four catches, including that of centurion Ben Duckett on the final day.

With England needing 371 to win, India had a chance to derail their chase when Duckett, who was batting on 97, mistimed his hook shot off Mohammed Siraj to the deep square leg, but Jaiswal failed to hold onto the seemingly easy catch. Duckett went on to smash 149 as England clinched the match by five wickets after completing their second-highest chase in Test cricket.

Gambhir defends Jaiswal despite four dropped catches

While Indian fielders, especially Jaiswal, have been facing intense criticism on social media, Gambhir decided to stand by his side.

“Catches do get dropped. The best fielders have missed catches. None of them did it on purpose,” Gambhir told reporters during the post-match press conference.

Gambhir, however, acknowledged that India’s twin batting collapses in the match and poor contributions from the lower order were a major reason the team lost the match despite putting up five centuries in the game.

“Yes, from a batting point of view, it’s disappointing because, in the first inning, we lost seven wickets on 40 runs and six wickets on 30 runs in the second inning. When we had the opportunity to make around 600 runs in the first inning, we were in a situation where we could have dominated,” Gambhir said.

“But again, these things happen. So, hopefully, we can learn in the second test match. But the good thing was that we had opportunities all four or five days where we could have dominated this Test match,” he added.