The Indian cricket team is currently evidencing a slew of changes. The squad for West Indies has only just been announced. There is talk of a possible split-captaincy between Rohit and Virat.
What’s more? The talk surrounding MS Dhoni’s possible or possibly fictional departure from the team never seems to not trouble die-hard fans.
Amid all this commotion, none other than Jonathan Jonty Rhodes has put down his name in the bid for fielding coach for team India.
The development is both interesting and exciting.
Not for nothing has Jonty Rhodes’s name as the team’s fielding coach is earning more interest with every passing hour. After all, he’s been with the vastly successful multiple IPL-winning franchise Mumbai Indians for the longest time.
Until recently, he served the Ambani-driven venture as its head coach, fielding.
And imagine that moment if Rhodes’ appointment is confirmed, how big a breakthrough would this be?
India have anyways upped the ante of their fielding game by several notches. The current playing eleven are all outstanding athletes who think not for a moment before throwing themselves at the ball, wherever it maybe.
It could be argued, the Yo-yo test has instilled a strong hygiene factor that ticks a crucial yardstick to be an exemplary modern-day cricketer: supreme fitness.
Today, you don’t merely see this side thrive on the talent of the world’s best ICC-ranked ODI bowler and inarguably, the best deliverer of Yorkers in the death overs alone or on the shoulders of arguably, the best batsman in the world.
It’s the much-vaunted athleticism, the commanding fielding and fitness of blokes like Pandya, Kohli, Jadeja that’s a major headline-determining factor for Team India.
Should Jonty Rhodes arrive into the middle of it all, we could well be set for an explosive term ahead for the world’s greatest fielder till date and the most exciting cricket unit going in the game nowadays, alongside England.
Only recently did the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators come out with an advertisement calling for applications for the position of India’s head coach- fielding.
Implicit in Rhodes possible (or expected) selection could be a nine-year long stint with Mumbai Indians, a stint that came to an end last year when New Zealander James Pamment took over.
But for someone who made taking blinders a habit making fielding a job as simple as plucking mangoes from trees with exceptional ease, Jonty Rhodes merely applying for this vital role strokes a world of expectations.
After all, this is no ordinary talent. Back in the day, in the halcyon period the 90s, Rhodes brought an often understated and often under-appreciated art into the mainframe, rescuing its overall essence as being ‘cricket’s third department!’
From 52 Tests and 245 ODIs, Rhodes grasped 34 and 105 catches respectively. The shark placed at point, once appointed, could well make some valuable points for Team India in the times to come.
