A virus is spreading in the Indian Premier League. This is the kind of virus that you don’t catch, instead you throw it away. Get it? No? Good. We are talking about the catch-drop virus that has taken over the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League. With each match, great chances are reduced, effectively changing the fate of the game.
The latest example of the virus spreading is the Delhi Capitals vs Punjab Kings match. Playing at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, the hosts scored a total of 264 runs, one of the highest scores in the history of the Indian Premier League.
DC vs PBKS, IPL 2026: MAIN DATA | Scorecard
A crucial dropped chance by KL Rahul in the third over of the game helped Delhi. Shashank Singh, placed on the leg boundary, couldn’t keep out a direct chancepouring the ball out of his hands.
Rahul punished Punjab brutally, smashing 152 runs, the highest score by an Indian in the history of the tournament.
But once Shashank sneezed, sorry, spilled the catch, the virus spread. Delhi Capitals dropped as many as six catches on the field the same evening.
One of them came off Shreyas Iyer in the 15th over. Iyer, who has a sensational record of remaining unbeaten in high-scoring chases, got a lifeline from Karun Nair at long-on and continued lead your team to the highest ever T20 chase in the history of the tournament.
Close-up of Shreyas Iyer’s catch by Karun Nair that cost Delhi Capitals the match. The pitcher’s reaction speaks for itself. Total grief in the middle pic.twitter.com/weBIkflIC5— Hitman (@Vijay456V60026) April 25, 2026
Delhi vs Punjab was not the only case. A total of 17 catches were made between the 2 games played on April 25th. In the Rajasthan vs Hyderabad game later that evening, a number of chances fell in Jaipur as SRH chased down 229 runs effortlessly.
It must be pointed out that the culprits in question – Karun Nair, Shashank Singh or for that matter Lungi Ngidi, who fell badly while trying to make a catchthey are not poor fielders. Field is actually one of their most important features, and they regularly place themselves in areas of high activity, also called hotspots.
But somehow they keep dropping catches.
SINCE 2020 A PERMANENT DECREASE IN HUNTING EFFICIENCY
It should be emphasized at this point that this catch-drop virus is not new. As of 2020, the catching efficiency in the Indian Premier League has been steadily decreasing.
In 2020, 85 out of every 100 catches were taken in the IPL. That number has dropped to 76 out of 100 in the middle of IPL 2025. It is likely to drop even lower this year.
That said, the problem isn’t just a few bad nights under the lights. It turned into a pattern.
At a time when players are faster, fitter and more athletic than ever before, it’s strange that something as basic as catching has become such a recurring problem. But maybe that’s the point. Catching is not glamorous. It is repetition, sharpness, awareness and concentration. And when fatigue sets in, that’s often the first thing to disappear.
WHY ARE SO MANY CATCHES GOING DOWN?
Interestingly, Yuzvendra Chahal, one of the recurring sufferers of this catch-drop virus, had said earlier in the season that no one goes into the game with the prospect of dropping catches. It happens and they are just part of the game.
Now check out this attempted catch by Chahal from Punjab’s match against Mumbai earlier this season.
Yes, Yuzi bhai, no one wants to drop them. But closing your eyes before the ball arrives certainly won’t help.
Shashank Singh, one of Punjab’s best fielders, dropped four of the last five chances. The one chance he didn’t miss, he didn’t even try. He stood on the boundary and watched the ball sail over the rope despite not being too far out of his reach.
IS IT A FLAW OF THE GAME?
India Today spoke to former IPL player Sreevats Goswami about this issue. Goswami, a sensational goalkeeper in his playing days, was largely immune to the virus himself. In response to the number of dropped catches, the former Bengals star believed it came down to one thing: awareness of the game.
Those players just weren’t switched on when they were on the field.
Virat Kohli all Catch Drops of IPL 2026
>down to 28(18) from Klassen vs SRH
>dropped to 7(8) from Dube vs CSK
>fell to 4(3) by Jurel vs RR
>down to 0(1) from Sundar vs GT
His career is all about a good PR team and luck pic.twitter.com/sSYu4qXsv2— Tarun (@perth_171) April 26, 2026
While that might explain the efforts of players like Yuzvenda Chahal, which teams often hide in easier positions, it doesn’t explain this particular missed chance from Washington Sundar.
Lined up at short mid-wicket, Washington dropped an absolute blast off Virat Kohli.
Result? You guessed it.
Kohli steered RCB’s 206-run chase with a smooth knock of 81 runs, helping the side chase down the target in just 18.5 overs.
Harsha Bhogle to Gill on Virat Kohli’s dropped catch:
Q: How difficult was that moment for you as captain?
Gill – “It’s always difficult when you get caught, but it’s how you get back into the game – especially with the ball – that’s important.pic.twitter.com/1hBTal7rYa— Sam (@Cricsam01) April 24, 2026
Sometimes consciousness is the answer. Sometimes it’s just tiredness.
THE UNFORGIVING PROGRAM
Since the Covid-19 years, cricketers have been trapped in an unimaginable calendar. At least one ICC event every year, several franchise tournaments around the world and a punishing bilateral schedule have driven players into a constant frenzy.
In 2024, the players barely had a week’s break between the IPL and the T20 World Cup. In 2026, the story was much the same. The World Cup ended on March 8 and the players reported to the IPL camps just a week and a half later.
Too much cricket is real. Fans feel it all the time. It probably caught up with the players as well.
The IPL schedule itself is relentless. Delhi Capitals lost a heart-pounding game on Saturday. They will have to brush off the physical and mental fatigue from that defeat and prepare for the next match on Monday.
In this kind of scheduling nightmare, teams often ask their first XI players to prioritize recovery. That means pool sessions, massages, muscle recovery and just a mental switch off. It also means less practice in the field and fewer catch-up sessions.
And that is ultimately reflected in the game.
One of India’s best fielders, Mohammed Kaif, said there are no two ways about it. If players don’t practice, their fielding skills won’t improve. The bigger question, however, is when exactly they should find the time.
“Field is like fast food, it’s like breakfast. Constant travel for a month makes the players tired. They use the breaks for massages, for recovery. It means over time you reduce the workload in training and focus on your specialized work, batting or bowling. In every IPL, you’ll see more and more catches drop as the tournament progresses,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
Especially this year, the heat across the country didn’t help either. In Delhi, the sun was so blindingly bright that you could barely follow the ball if it soared high into the air. The heat physically drained the players, forcing terrible bouts of fatigue, dehydration and cramps.
While dropping a catch is no excuse, it would be unfair to blame only the players without paying attention to external factors.
Yes, the foreclosure is to blame. But so is the calendar, the heat and the punishing timetable.
So the catch-drop virus is not really a mystery. It’s a sign of a sport that rarely stops, of players who are constantly traveling, constantly recovering and constantly preparing for the next game before the last one is completely over.
No one goes into a match wanting to quit. No one plans to become the next viral clip on social media. But in a tournament as relentless as the IPL, sometimes the easiest chances become the toughest.
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– The end
Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
26 Apr 2026 14:44 IST
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