India Women are looking for a new fielding coach as Munish Bali faces mounting criticism

The BCCI on Tuesday invited applications for the post of fielding coach of the Indian women’s cricket team, the move coming amid growing concerns over the team’s fielding standards and repeated dropped catches.

In a press release, the board said that interested parties can submit their applications until November 16. Munish Bali was the team’s fielding coach during his last assignment, the home white-ball series against Zimbabwe, where India’s catching woes came under control once again.

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The BCCI outlined several responsibilities for the role, including “developing and implementing comprehensive on-field programs to build a world-class fielding unit”. The successful candidate will also be expected to conduct on-field drills during training and matches, provide one-on-one coaching for skill development and “assess individual on-field contributions in a variety of match situations”.

INDIAN FIELD GODS UNDER CONTROL

India’s catching woes have become increasingly difficult to ignore, with the team showing little sign of improvement since the Women’s World T20 2026. The warning signs were evident during the global tournament, where India lost 10 catches in five group stage matches.

Three of those errors came against South Africa, with Marizanne Kapp making India pay after being given a few lifelines. India eventually crashed out in the group stage and their fielding came under considerable criticism.

Head coach Amol Muzumdar acknowledged that there was room for improvement and identified the field alongside batting and bowling as areas that needed attention. After India’s exit, he admitted that the team lagged across the departments during the tournament.

However, concerns persist in the coming months. India lost four catches during the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe before letting four more opportunities slip away in the opening ODI itself. Their catching continued in the 50 over series as well.

The opening ODI was particularly worrisome. Richa Ghosh dropped two catches, including a regulation chance behind the stumps, while Deepti Sharma and Kranti Gaud also missed chances. India also failed to capitalize on several missed opportunities.

Despite completing a 3-0 ODI series sweep, repeated blips have raised questions about India’s fielding standards and the effectiveness of the work being done to address them.

India’s next task will be a full format tour of South Africa in December. The two teams will start with a one-off Test at Gqeberha from December 9, followed by three ODIs from December 16 and three T20Is from December 26.

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