"We could have been more disciplined" - Vikram Rathour bemoans Team India's poor fielding against Nepal in Asia Cup 2023 

Team India batting coach Vikram Rathour spoke about the Men in Blue's dismal fielding performance during their Asia Cup 2023 group-stage encounter against Nepal at the Pallekele International Stadium on Monday.

Team India secured their place in the Super Four stage of the continental competition following a 10-wicket win via the DLS method in the rain-curtailed encounter. However, Nepal were on top in the initial stages of the contest after Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Shreyas Iyer dropped a catch in the very first over at slip, while Virat Kohli and Ishan Kishan also spilled regulation catches inside the five overs. While the bowlers fought back with wickets to restrict the opposition to 230, the fielding was consistently poor throughout the innings, right from catching to ground fielding.

Skipper Rohit Sharma cut a frustrated figure when the team walked off during the rain break as well as during the innings break.

Opining that the team could have been more disciplined in the field, Vikram Rathour said during the post-match press conference:

"The wicket today was good, better than the last one during Pakistan. We could have been more disciplined. The three dropped catches helped them."

"They batted well...Glad nothing major happened (because of the dropped catches). It was good to see how we responded to it (the target)," he added.

Persistent rain after the first innings and briefly after the start of India's spell with the bat led to a revised target. Opening batters Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill comfortably chased down 147 runs in 20.1 overs to seal the win and progress into the Super Four stage.

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"Team management will take the final decision" - Vikram Rathour on Team India's wicket-keeper selection conundrum

Team India's next contest is scheduled for September 10 in the Super Four stage against Pakistan, which leaves the current focus on the ODI World Cup squad, slated to be announced on Tuesday.

Reports suggest that KL Rahul will be included despite a lack of game time in recent times, while the likes of Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, and Prasidh Krishna will miss out.

In Rahul's absence, Ishan Kishan has been doing a stellar job in the middle order. The left-handed batter had a solid series against West Indies while opening the innings and has brought his form into the Asia Cup as well. He scored a sublime fifty under pressure against Pakistan to make a serious case.

Regarding the selection call, Rathour said:

"Ishan played really well. He has been doing really good. But KL has also done well for two years. It is a good problem to have. Team management will take the final decision."

"We have 15 players in the squad to test different combinations against different teams in different conditions. Shardul (Thakur) gives us batting depth...If we want to go all out with our fast bowlers, we have that as an option option. We have the option to play one more spinner as well as we have Axar Patel. It is good to have these options," he added.

Team India will play a minimum of three more matches in the 2023 Asia Cup, four if they qualify for the finals. They are also scheduled to play a three-match ODI series against Australia at home before the ODI World Cup.