The new Indian head coach, Gautam Gambhir, has carried his coaching members from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise straight into the national team. In that case, it was a surprising moment to see him not appointing Jonty Rhodes as the fielding coach of the Blue Brigade, despite working with him during his two-year stint with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
Since the end of head coach Rahul Dravid, who finished gloriously, winning their second T20 World Cup, beating South Africa in the final in Barbados, none of the coaching members was retained by Gambhir, who was granted the freedom to form his team, and among the names in his radar, Jonty Rhodes was supposed to be the fielding coach of the team.
Rhodes has worked in the position of South Africa, besides being part of various franchises around the globe. He, currently, has been working as the fielding coach of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League.
“Maybe because I am based in Goa”- Jonty Rhodes
With the experience of Jonty Rhodes in the IPL, where he has previously worked with Mumbai Indians and associated with Indian cricket for a long time, his name was expected to be considered for the fielding position of the team. He currently resides in Goa and was expected to be a strong contender.
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However, the BCCI ultimately decided to retain their former fielding coach of Rahul Dravid’s team, T Dilip, who remains a key member of the set-up of Gambhir. The Natal-born has broken the silence on why he wasn’t made the fielding coach of the national side despite having the backing of Gambhir.
“Yeah! Can you believe it? 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 (city).” The former South African batter expressed, during a podcast on Aleena Dissects YouTube channel.
Jonty Rhodes, however, praised the two former fielding coaches of the Blue Brigade, T Dilip and R Sridhar, and also lauded the contribution of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, both of whom have worked together to elevate the fitness standards of the Indian players.
“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, and he still does at the end of his IPL career.” The veteran remarked during the conversation.
“Running between the wickets, (it’s) amazing, and he’s 40. It’s incredible. He certainly showed, just through his example, the importance of fitness and strength.” Jonty Rhodes highlighted.
The 55-year-old also felt the fitness levels of the players these days have grown so much that they are being treated equally, and it has become a part of the selection criteria.
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“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 become a good fielding team.” Jonty Rhodes shared his view.
The Indian Test players have gathered at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai for their practice sessions, five days before the start of the first game against Bangladesh, as Gambhir, after a disappointing ODI series defeat in Sri Lanka, aims to begin on a positive note at home.