Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes is being considered for the Indian men’s senior cricket team fielding coach job, according to a report in Revsportz. The current backroom staff, including head coach Rahul Dravid and fielding coach T Dilip, will be stepping down from their positions after the culmination of the T20 World Cup. 

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While the priority remains for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to appoint the head coach, Rhodes’ name has been doing the rounds in the upper echelons of the Indian board. 

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“The former South Africa cricketer hasn’t received any formal approach yet, but his is one of the names doing the rounds,” the report claimed. 

Rhodes, a gun fielder back in his playing days, had applied for the same position back in 2019 but the BCCI preferred to stick with R Sridhar who was the then head coach Ravi Shastri’s preferred choice. 

“Yes, I have applied for the position of India’s new fielding coach. My wife and I love the country, and it has already given us so much. We have two children born in India,” Rhodes had said at the time. 

New coach announcement 

Former India opener and Kolkata Knight Riders mentor Gautam Gambhir is leading the race to replace Rahul Dravid as Team India’s new head coach, according to reports. 

It was in May that BCCI started the application process for the new head coach. As soon as the position was opened, several high-profile names such as VVS Laxman Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting among others were associated with the job.

However, Gambhir’s name gained prominence after he guided Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a third Indian Premier League (IPL) title last month. 

“I would love to coach the Indian team. There’s no bigger honour than coaching your national team. You are representing 140 crore Indians and more across the globe as well and when you represent India, how can it get bigger than that?” said Gambhir when quizzed about the prospective job. 

According to reports, BCCI secretary Jay Shah has already held a meeting to discuss the job with Gambhir, who remains keen to get on board. 

Shah and Gambhir share the belief that the former Indian batter should take up the job to serve the country.

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