Srinagar: Former South Africa cricketer Jonty Rhodes who is reckoned at fielding legend has named current Indian best fielder.
“Right now, there is only one – Ravindra Jadeja,” Rhodes told The Times of India when asked to name the current top three fielders in the world.
Jadeja will be turning up for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2023. He was the captain of the side at the start of the previous season but stood down midway after CSK’s disappointing show. He will have a point to prove this year.
Rhodes, who is the current fielding coach of Lucknow Super Giants narrated how IPL, since its inception back in 2008, has played a key role in improving the fielding standards of cricketers across the globe.
It is T20 cricket specifically, not just limited overs. Only when IPL began, people really started focusing on fielding.
“It is not difficult to focus on fielding because it is a discipline. We have fielding coaches and their job is to make the work done. Just like batting and bowling, it is a part of daily practice. As a fielding coach, I am not requesting players, I am getting them into fielding rules. Fielding now is an important part of cricket,” he said.
“I think more coaches are required. If I go to any academy and any state, I can motivate the players for 3-4 days in a camp. They will be excited and do the drills but in two weeks’ time, they will forget everything or not do things with the same intensity. Cricket is a game of habit and how you practice is important. People think practice makes perfect players but you need perfect practice for perfection. The key is to upskill coaches at domestic level and make sure more youngsters come through as they can easily get into the good habit of fielding at an early stage. We should focus on coaches. If I train players, the impact is on 10-12 players but if I can train 5-6 coaches, the impact will be on 100 players.”