‘Mera naam Jonty Rhodes’: South African great talks about ‘local’ roots after India fielding coach snub

With Rahul Dravid stepping down as India's head coach following the T20 World Cup, the Indian team management was in for a major shake-up. Dravid was soon to be replaced by former teammate Gautam Gambhir, while his coaching staff, with the exception of fielding coach T Dilip, was also more or less replaced.

Gambhir's dream team was said to include Jonty Rhodes as fielding coach and Morne Morkel as bowling coach. Meanwhile, Ryan Ten Doeschate and Abhishek Nayar were also Gambhir's choices for the coaching staff.

However, while Gambhir's other alleged choices were given the responsibility, Rhodes wasn't appointed as fielding coach as the BCCI continued with T Dilip's contract.

While Gambhir or the BCCI have not officially commented on the board's decision not to appoint Rhodes as fielding coach, his foreign roots are said to have been one of the main reasons for the choice.

In a recent interaction with Aleena Dissects YouTube channel, Rhodes has now tacked the matter head on, citing his local roots and even showing off his hindi speaking skills. He said, “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),” Rhodes said during a podcast on.

Rhodes praises India's feeding coach:

But Rhodes also praised the role of T Dilip and former fielding coach R Sridhar in helping India become a "good fielding team", first under MS Dhoni and then under Virat Kohli.

“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, teh importance of fitness and strength,” Rhodes added