Jonty Rhodes who is famous for his incredible fielding and is widely regarded as the greatest ever fielder in the game of cricket was left disappointed after missing out on India's coaching role after the end of Rahul Dravid and his team's stint with the team.
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The 55-year-old who represented South Africa from 1992 to 2003 was among the names who had India's new head coach, Gautam Gambhir's green light to join the team. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) did not go ahead with him and instead renewed the previous contract with T Dilip as fielding coach who remains the only support staff to have retained his coaching job from Dravid's staff that was part of the team that triumphed in the T20 World Cup 2024.
Jonty Rhodes expected to get the coaching role for India.
Speaking to Aleena Dissects YouTube channel, Rhodes expressed his disappointment after being overlooked by the BCCI saying,
"Yeah! Can you believe it [that they didn't want me]? I mean, they didn't want an international coach, and I'm so local. I mean, mera naam Jonty Rhodes! (I'm Jonty Rhodes) Come on. I'm based in Goa. Maybe because I'm based in Goa. Maybe I need to be in a metro," said Rhodes.
However, the South African also heaped praise for T Dilip and R Sridhar (the previous two Indian fielding coaches) for setting up high standards in Indian fielding department under MS Dhoni and then Virat Kohli.
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"I've taken my hats off to the last two Indian fielding coaches. And it comes from captaincy. Under Dhoni, he had a lot of senior guys, and he just showed his physical ability, he still does at the end of his IPL career. Running between the wickets is amazing, and he's 40. It's incredible. He certainly showed, just through his example, the importance of fitness and strength," he said
"Then Virat Kohli took over, and it was a part of the selection criteria. If you don't pass the fitness standards, it doesn't matter how good you are. Everybody was treated equally, and it took India to becoming a better fielding team," he added.
What did Jonty Rhodes say about improvement of India's fielding standards under MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli?
"These days there is no space to hide [from fielding] to anybody. It's incredible, India's dominance. There are three elements to the game," he said
He praised former captains MS Dhoni and particularly Virat Kohli for embarking the important of fitness to their teammates, which he believes transformed India to one of the best fielding sides in the world.
It's no longer just batting and bowling and a couple of guys fielding. You are weaker than the other team when you have guys hiding. You can't afford that. The captaincy through MSD and Virat Kohli had a huge impact [on the team's fielding]."
"[Back in the day] Mohammad Kaif was a great fielder, but you could literally see, someone put a foot down [to stop the ball] or calling the ball boy to throw the ball back was the extent of fielding," he noted.
"It's exciting to see how the players in the Indian setup now are superb. Jadeja is ridiculous. Suresh Raina, I was a huge fan when he played. I just loved to see him in the field. As a team they work really hard," Rhodes said as he highlighted India's two best fielders in the last decade.
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Jonty Rhodes on South Africa team's fielding in the 90s
The former Proteas cricketers remarked that the South African players of yesteryear had a strong fitness background, combining various disciplines of sport. Unlike in the modern game where teams have specialists for conditioning, physios, who look after the players on a macro-level.
"In the early 90s, because of the years of isolation, we had no international experience, but South Africans play multiple sports. Someone played rugby, I played hockey, tennis players. So, for us, the fitness part wasn't a big change. We used to work on our fitness after practice," Rhodes recalled.
"Then it was all about defending the singles and taking the catches. Now it is about saving boundaries, incredible juggling stuff which we practice. My whole career was literally one area at backward point or at mid-wicket or short cover. I never left 10-15 meters away. Fielding has evolved and players have improved. Great to see the focus on fielding."
"You can't be lazy anymore. If you are sitting in the selection meeting and 2-3 local players to select, they come to me to ask who the better player is when they are similar and are not sure who to pick," the South African added.
Jonty Rhodes on working as fielding coach after retirement
"I was always passionate about fielding, and it is great to have that as a job. My playing days were done long before the IPL and I was working at a bank after having my commercial degree and then the IPL came around and it was exciting to get to be a part of the game again," Rhodes remarked
The South African currently works with the Lucknow Supergiants in the IPL after his stints with Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings and Sweden National team.
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