Iconic Indian fielder knows why Jaiswal dropped so many catches at Headingley

Yashasvi Jaiswal has been criticised heavily for his poor fielding during the first Test against England at Headingley, which India lost by five wickets.

The young Indian batter dropped at least four crucial catches, and the batters he gave a reprieve, sometimes more than once, played decisive roles in the English win.

India's failure in Leeds wasn't just down to the dropped catches; the middle order was non-existent, the pacers, particularly in the second innings, lacked aggression, and captain Shubman Gill did not always have a firm grip on his debut.

But "we could have won the Test match by taking the catches that were dropped," said former India player Mohammad Kaif. The retired batter, who was one of India's finest fielders, has found the reason for Jaiswal's poor fielding performance.

Kaif pointed to an adhesive tape Jaiswal had wrapped around his palm while fielding. "The weather there is cold, and the Dukes ball can hurt when it strikes. So you have taped the palm, but it restricts the free movement of the fingers. Also, the ball bounces off the spongy surface of the tape. To field well, one must not lose the natural feel," Kaif said.

In the first innings, Jaiswal dropped Ollie Pope at third slip, and the Englishman went on to make 106. He also put down a thick edge from Ben Duckett in the same innings, and the opener made 62. Jaiswal dropped Duckett in the second innings as well, and that proved to be the costliest mistake of all, as the batter went on to make a match-winning 149.

Harry Brook, too, benefited from Jaiswal's misfielding as he was dropped at third slip to a Mohammed Siraj delivery. Brook made 99 in the first innings, which was crucial as England came within six runs of India's total of 471.