Former India fielding coach R Sridhar defended Yashasvi Jaiswal’s woeful display on the ground during the first Test against England at Headingley, Leeds. The youngster dropped as many as four crucial chances, comprising opportunities both in the slip cordon as well as the outfield, as England recorded a five-wicket win to claim a series lead.Yashasvi Jaiswal marked his first outing on English soil with a ton in the first innings, but had a forgettable set of days after that. The youngster dropped Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope in the early stages of the innings of Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling. He then proceeded to drop a sitter at gully to hand Harry Brook a second life, and missed a running catch at deep square leg to ensure Ben Duckett stayed at the crease in the second innings.Apart from Jaiswal, the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant also dropped catches at crucial junctures in the game, marking Team India’s worst fielding display in recent history.R Sridhar, however, noted that the deceptive visibility of the ball at Leeds, coupled with the cold conditions, made things tougher for Jaiswal and the rest of the Indian team than it looked.“He’s actually an excellent gully fielder. Make no mistake. He’s had just two bad games — one in Melbourne, one here in Leeds. Otherwise, he’s been exceptional. The catches he took against Bangladesh in Kanpur were outstanding. It’s easy to sit in the commentary box and criticise, but these are challenging conditions, and for many of them, it’s their first experience of this environment,” Sridhar said in an interview with Sportstar.All three of Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, and Harry Brook, capitalised on their second lives to be the top-scorers for England in the first innings. As a result, Team India only ended up with a six-run lead, which, although they stretched to 371 in the second innings, did not prove to be enough.“The standard of ground fielding which is exhibited is not acceptable” – R Sridhar on Team India’s fielding efforts in ENG vs IND 2025 1st TestApart from catching, Team India did not have the smoothest of outings when it came to the basics either. The practice pitches along the square of Headingley meant for a tricky and quick outfield, which the visitors often struggled with at times.Furthermore, there were the occasional misfields, most notably one by Shardul Thakur at mid-off. The all-rounder slipped and did not show alertness to recover the ball, leading to a fuming Ravindra Jadeja at the bowler’s end.“The standard of ground fielding which is exhibited is not acceptable. Unlike catching, ground fielding is something which is totally in your control. You should know which ball to put your body behind, which ball to attack, which ball to play safe,” Sridhar said.Fielding is expected to be one of the areas that the Shubman Gill-led side will be focusing on while preparing for the second Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham. The match is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, July 2.