BCCI invites applications for India women's fielding coach after catching errors

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday invited applications for the post of fielding coach of the Indian women's cricket team in a media release, citing concerns over the side's fielding and repeated dropped catches. Interested candidates can submit their applications by November 16, the Board said.

Munish Bali was the team's fielding coach during its most recent assignment, a home white-ball series against Zimbabwe, where India's catching woes once again drew scrutiny. The BCCI set out responsibilities for the role, including "developing and implementing comprehensive fielding programmes to build a world-class fielding unit." The successful candidate will also be expected to conduct fielding sessions during practice and matches, provide individual coaching for skill development and "assess individual contributions in the field across different match situations."

India's catching problems have shown little sign of improvement since the Women's T20 World Cup 2026, when the side dropped 10 catches in five group-stage matches. Three of those misses occurred against South Africa, with Marizanne Kapp making India pay after being given multiple lifelines, and India crashed out in the group stage. Head coach Amol Muzumdar acknowledged there was room for improvement, identifying fielding alongside batting and bowling as areas that needed attention, and he admitted the team had fallen short across departments following the exit.

The issues persisted in bilateral cricket: India dropped four catches during the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe and let another four opportunities go in the opening ODI. Reports say the catching problems continued through the 50-over series as well.

The opening ODI contained several high-profile misses: Richa Ghosh dropped two catches, including a regulation opportunity behind the stumps, while Deepti Sharma and Kranti Gaud also missed chances. India also failed to capitalise on a couple of run-out opportunities in that match.

Those errors came despite India completing a 3-0 ODI series sweep, and the repeated lapses have raised questions about India's fielding standards and the effectiveness of the work being done to address them.

India's next assignment will be an all-format tour of South Africa in December. The two teams will begin with a one-off Test in Gqeberha from December 9, followed by three ODIs from December 16 and three T20Is from December 26.