Slip catching has been an issue for Indian fielders, says Jonty Rhodes
Jonty Rhodes has pointed out that Indian cricketers seem to falter at the slips when playing away from home on tours. Rhodes, who gave the interview for the post of India's fielding coach, claims that R Sridhar will be reinstated due to the progressive work he's carried out in the last two years.
Jonty Rhodes has been vocal about his love for India and the rich tradition and culture that stems from every corner of the nation. The former South African cricketer has a history of coaching in the Asian sub-continent having served as a fielding coach to the highly-successful Mumbai Indians franchise.
Rhodes admitted that India made massive progress in their ground fielding but hinted there were certain areas where the current Indian team led by Virat Kohli could still improve.
"The Indian players have certainly got fitter, but they still can improve on their agility. We grew up in South Africa playing multiple sports. All these sports made me the fielder I was. Fielding is about lateral movement, I don't think the Indians are yet at their best in that.
"Away from home, slip catching has been an issue for India. They could have beaten South Africa and even England last year (in Tests) had they not dropped a few catches," Rhodes was quoted as saying by TOI reporters.
The 50-year old, who represented South Africa in 52 Test matches and 245 ODIs, is also in contention to be appointed as the next fielding coach of the Indian team. However, Rhodes reckons that BCCI officials will opt to stick with R Sridhar due to the positive results shown by the team in the last couple of years.
"As a fielding coach I did a couple of years of coaching with the South African team till the 2007 World Cup. Since then, I have only worked in India. I am way more familiar with the cricketing set up in India than I am in South Africa.
"I am sure my interview was not as good as the one with the incumbent coach because he has been there for the last couple of years. Players have definitely worked with a plan. And you can see the progress as it just doesn't happen. I am expecting that from an interview point of view - he kicked my butt," Jonty quipped.