Legendary South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes has opened up about the disappointment he felt at missing out on the job of India’s fielding coach.
Ahead of India’s Test series against Bangladesh, Rhodes revealed that the selection panel was looking for a local coach for the position.
Following India’s victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup, the tenure of Rahul Dravid and his coaching staff also came to an end.
Gautam Gambhir has been chosen as India’s new fielding coach. Gambhir suggested Rhodes’ name for the post of India’s fielding coach.
But the selection committee wanted a local Indian coach for the post and in the end, T. Dilip, who was also the fielding coach during Rahul Dravid’s tenure, was reappointed for this post. Dilip became the only person to continue the services of Rahul Dravid’s era.
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Jonty Rhodes reveals why he lost India’s fielding coach job
During a podcast on YouTube channel ‘Aleena Dissects’, Jonty Rhodes finally broke his silence on his absence as India’s fielding coach.
He claimed that the panel wanted a local coach for the post despite head coach Gautam Gambhir’s preference for him.
“Yes! Can you believe it? I mean, they didn’t want an international coach and I am very local. I mean, mere naam Jonty Rhodes! (I am Jonty Rhodes). Come on. I live in Goa. Maybe because I live in Goa. Maybe I need to be in a metropolis (city),” Rhodes revealed.
Rhodes currently resides in Goa. Since his retirement, his bond with India has only strengthened. He is currently serving as the fielding coach for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL.
Jonty Rhodes praises MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli
Meanwhile, Rhodes reserved all praise for R Sridhar and T Dilip for putting in a tremendous amount of work with the Indian team as fielding coaches.
Sridhar and Dilip are the last two fielding coaches of Team India. The legendary fielder also mentioned that MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli played key roles in India’s improvement as a fielding team.
“I take my hat off to the last two Indian fielding coaches. And that is because of their role as captain. Under (MS) Dhoni, you had a lot of senior players and he showed his physical ability, which he is still showing at the end of his IPL career. Running between the wickets is incredible, and he is 40 years old. It is incredible. He certainly showed, by example, the importance of fitness and strength,” Rhodes said.
“Then Virat Kohli took over and that was part of the selection criteria. If you don’t pass the fitness standards, it doesn’t matter how good you are. Everyone was treated equally and it was necessary for India to become a good fielding team,” the former South African cricketer added.
This is not the first time Rhodes has applied for the post of India’s fielding coach.
He had also applied for the post earlier but the BCCI selection panel did not want an international coach then either.
India will play their first Test series during Gautam Gambhir’s tenure against Bangladesh. The two-match series will begin on September 19 in Chennai.
