Blinders to Blindsided - making sense of the dropped catches syndrome of IPL 2025

One of cricket's oldest cliches - 'Catches win Matches' has dominated the headlines through the first 43 matches of IPL 2025. Team India fans continue to watch Suryakumar Yadav's spectacular boundary catch to seal the 2024 T20 World Cup final on loop, almost a year after it transpired.

Such is the impact of catches in the T20 format, where the barest margins separate joy and agony. However, the ongoing IPL has witnessed the opposite side of the spectrum all too frequently. In this day and age, when having a lone liability in the field is seen as a crime, even some of the safest fielders have been caught napping, dropping catches at an alarming rate.

If Kamindu Mendis' sensational catch to dismiss a rampaging Dewald Brevis in last night's clash between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) grabbed the internet by storm, Harshal Patel's straightforward drop of Ravindra Jadeja was almost ho-hum and par for the course in this year's IPL.

Such has been the alarming dip in catching efficiency thus far in this IPL season, where even brilliant slip catchers have allowed routine catches to slip. Yet, is the 'dropped catch syndrome' just a myth, or do numbers back up what our eyes consistently scream at us on a seemingly daily basis, this IPL?

Alarming Numbers validate the eyetest

Riyan Parag has put down several crucial catches this season [Credit: Getty]

Occasionally, recency bias and the consequence of dropped catches can lure us into believing that catches have been spilled more regularly than is the case in reality. However, a few eye-catching numbers validate most fans' eye tests over the first half of IPL 2025.

The table below highlights how catching and fielding efficiency has been the lowest in IPL 2025 compared to the previous few seasons.

[Credit: ESPN Cricinfo]

Also interesting is the worrying trend of a yearly drop in catching efficiency in the first 39 matches of the last five IPL seasons.

Yet, sticking with IPL 2025, 101 drops out of 429 catching opportunities does not make for pretty reading. Simply put, the 76.46% catching efficiency means one out of every four catches has been grassed thus far in this year's IPL.

The repercussions of dropped catches

Priyansh Arya was helped by several fielding lapses during his maiden IPL century [Credit: Getty]

All dropped catches cannot be measured equally from a difficulty or consequence standpoint. For ease of understanding, let us split dropped catches into four high-level scenarios:

1. Dropping a near-impossible catch off a crucial batter in the opposition ranks at a critical situation
2. Dropping a near-impossible catch off a low-impact batter at a meaningless stage of the innings
3. Dropping a sitter off a crucial batter in the opposition ranks at a critical situation
4. Dropping a sitter off a low-impact batter at a meaningless stage of the innings

The first instance ranks high on the consequence scale, even if the increased degree of difficulty nullifies the effect on the fielder and the rest of the team. The second and fourth instances may vary in difficulty levels, but the low impact on the outcome makes it ignorable.

However, the third scenario hits a team hard with consequences and ripple effects galore. Imagine dropping a sitter off Nicholas Pooran or Suryakumar Yadav in the early stages of an innings.

Such drops snatch the heart, soul, and spirit of the said fielder and the rest of the team. The shoulders drop further after every run and big hit that the batter scores.

Should this also result in that batter being the different maker in the eventual outcome of the game, the ripple effects carry over to the subsequent matches.

Hence, it is no surprise that two of the three lowest-ranked teams on the points table, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR), have the worst catching efficiency in the first half of IPL 2025.

CSK's repeated dropping of youngster Priyansh Arya resulted in him scoring a match-winning century. RR skipper Riyan Parag shelling Virat Kohli early in RCB's successful run-chase still sticks in the craw of their fans. It is the straightforward nature of these dropped catches that results in a top-order batter scoring big and making the difference between victory and defeat, which adds to the brutality.

It is further evidence that dropping a sitter of a difference maker remains the worst possible result from a single delivery in the sport. The psychological damage of such instances on the rest of the match and potentially the remainder of the tournament is immeasurable yet apparent.

Fluke or Flaw?

CSK and MS Dhoni can thank Ravi Bishnoi for one of their two wins this season [Credit: Getty]

All the numbers and consequences aside, let us cut straight to the chase. Why are so many catches being dropped in IPL 2025?

Almost all the fielders who have put down sitters in night matches have used the stadium lights as an easy escape route. While the low-lying lights at some venues have played a role in fielders' misjudgment, thanks to the depth perception factor, it begs the question of how professional cricketers haven't simulated the exact circumstances in practice.

While not provable, it has been visible that a few fielders have endured a lapse in concentration or been far too casual under high catches. There could also be a mental aspect to the dropped catches, as dropping a high-impact batter now isn't the same as it was when T20 just started.

In this high-scoring and six-hitting era, one dropped catch of such batters can seal the fate of a team in a matter of minutes. Do fielders have thoughts of 'What if I drop this?' when sprinting or waiting for high catches?

Fearing the consequences can cluster the mind like no other, and some of the best ball-strikers benefiting from the dropped catches this season could be a case in point for the above.

Lastly, players working with different fielding coaches every other season may affect their basic catching techniques. Considering each cricket-playing nation has a stock fielding and catching technique of their own, a change of personnel in the coaching staff could lead to players suffering from the 'Too many cooks spoil the broth' syndrome.