Why a cricket player moves his hands backward while catching a ball 🏀?

Answer:-

Initially the ball is moving with a certain velocity and the player has to apply a retarding force to bring the ball to rest in his hand.In this case ∆t→0 so a large force exerted by the ball upon the hands of player.But if he moves his hands backward then he provide a greater time for change in momentum.Thus a small force is exerted by the ball upon the hands.