Jonty Rhodes, considered to be the best fielder the game of cricket has seen, is reportedly tipped to be the next Team India fielding coach.
A new coaching team will take over in July. The BCCI will reveal the new head coach before the end of the month, and Gautam Gambhir is expected to succeed Rahul Dravid.
Rhodes, widely regarded as one of the finest outfielders in the game’s history, is presently the fielding coach for the IPL squad Lucknow Super Giants. He had previously spent nine years working in the same position with the Mumbai Indians.
He also collaborated with Gambhir at LSG, where he was the team mentor. The 54-year-old understands Indian cricket inside and out.
Jonty Rhodes is yet to receive a formal offer from BCCI
Jonty Rhodes has previously sought the role of Indian team fielding coach in 2019 but did not make the cut. R Sridhar was reappointed because then-head coach Ravi Shastri wanted him to be a part of his coaching team.
Five years ago, when Rhodes applied for India’s fielding coach’s job, he had said: “Yes, I have applied for the position of India’s new fielding coach. My wife and I love the country, and it has already given us so much… We have two children born in India.”
The head coach typically selects his assistants, and Shastri had a core team that included B Arun as bowling coach and Sridhar as fielding coach.
Similarly, when Dravid was named as head coach in 2021, he brought in Paras Mhambrey and T Dilip to oversee the bowling and fielding departments. Before joining the Indian senior team, the three had previously worked together for India A and the National Cricket Academy.
However, as per the RevSportz report, Gautam Gambhir is keen on bringing Jonty Rhodes into the Indian fold. Rhodes is yet to receive any formal offer from the BCCI’s end this time around.
But the BCCI officials have started discussions with Gautam Gambhir about bringing in Rhodes as fielding coach. Notably, it is unsure whether Dilip is ready to re-apply for the role, and is ready to work under the new head coach of Team India.
The new coach’s tenure will be from July 1 to December 31, 2027.
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