Former South Africa cricketer Jonty Rhodes hilariously reacted for not being ignored by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the fielding coach role. BCCI have appointed Gautam Gambhir as India's new head coach but the board hasn't changed the fielding coach. BCCI retained T. Dilip as India's head coach after the team's brilliant performance in the ODI World Cup 2023 and T20 World Cup 2024.
Rhodes jokingly said that he needed to stay in a metro city to be part of India's coaching staff.
“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)” said Rhodes in Aleena Dissects youtube channel.
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Jonty Rhodes on Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni
The South African cricketing legend also lavished praise on MS Dhoni for his captaincy and fitness. He reckoned that Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni took India to becoming a good fielding team.
“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.... amazing, and he's 40. It's incredible. He certainly showed, just through his example, the importance of fitness and strength. 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 good fielding team,” he added.
Team India are currently in Chennai preparing for the first Test match against Bangladesh which is scheduled to start from September 19.
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