5 players who can help their team to World Cup glory with their fielding

Cricket fans have a subconscious tendency to focus on the batting and bowling of their teams. However, what one rarely hears is: “we must field well.”Fielding is just as important as its other two counterparts. A great piece of fielding, sometimes, becomes the difference between winning and losing. It also boosts the spirits within the team. The saying, catches win matches, didn’t come from nowhere after all.Like Castrol Activ’s Actibonds Cling On and help protect the engines even after they are switched off, these fielders always cling on to the ball in an attempt to protect their teams.From Jonty Rhodes’ brilliant athleticism to Rahul Dravid’s immaculate slip fielding, we have had some terrific fielders in the history of the game. Nowadays, advancement in technology has meant that players are more athletic and fielding is a treat to watch.And here are 5 such fielders of current times who can help their team win the World T20 with their fielding –

#5 Martin Guptill

The Kiwi player is synonymous with great displays with the bat, with his 237* in ODI being one of the best innings ever played by a batsman, but he is also highly regarded for another thing: his fielding.

If the ball is in the air and anywhere around Martin Guptill, the batsman might as well head back to the dressing room before the catch is even taken—such is his prowess when it comes to bagging catches.

It is not that he is average when it comes to ground fielding. In fact, it is quite the contrary, as we have seen him display some brilliant moments of fielding on the ground.

#4 Dwayne Bravo

West Indies are known for their party style of playing. Be it batting or bowling or fielding, they do it in style. While Chris Gayle is the ultimate rockstar when it comes to batting, Dwayne Bravo, aptly known as DJ Bravo, is the one who rocks the floor while fielding for the team.

When he runs around the ground to stop a run, it feels so effortless—as if he is doing some sort of freestyle and not actually sweating it to guard his team.

A quick single with him near the ball is like trying to steal from a dragon’s lair—your stumps are out of the ground before you even know it, something that makes him a very dangerous customer to deal with.

#3 Ravindra Jadeja

The standards of fielding in the Indian cricket team have taken a vast leap in the last decade or so, with the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif starting this trend in the bygone decade of the Ganguly era.

Right now, however, none of these two remain the best fielders in the team. There is someone else who has taken that mantle and it is none other than Ravindra Jadeja.

He might be short in stature, but it helps him move around quicker on the field and stop the extra run here and there. His catching and fielding have been top-notch for a long time now and he remains one of the best fielders in the world.

#2 David Warner

Another team filled with superb fielders. Another team that has lost their first game. However, with the firepower the Australian team has, it isn’t entirely impossible for them to make a comeback—even if they don’t consider T20 as serious.

David Warner is not only a powerful hitter of the ball, he also has a Kangaroo pouch for hands as nothing ever slips away from his hands. He is always alert and active on the field and rarely makes errors.

In T20Is, he has taken 30 catches in 58 innings, a testament to his safe catching.

#1 Faf du Plessis

South Africans are great fielders. One can almost say that they are genetically constructed in such a way that they make unreal fielders. However, if one is asked to pick one fielder from the South Africa team, it would be Faf du Plessis.

The man has done some near impossible things on the field; be it catches in the IPL for Chennai Super Kings or while wearing the Proteas shirt. Nothing goes past him and it is the conversion of half-chances that sometimes makes the biggest difference.

South Africa might have lost their first encounter against England, but they still have a good chance to qualify—and Faf du Plessis being active on the field is one of the most important things for them.