Team India to rope in Jointy Rhodes as fielding consultant?

Mumbai: Virat Kohli’s Team India is looking at the expertise of former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes for a role as a fielding consultant during India’s tour of Sri Lanka later this month. Rhodes has played a crucial part in the Mumbai Indians setup in the Indian Premier League, helping them win three titles so far.

Although R Sridhar is set to be the full-time fielding coach for the Indian cricket team, Rhodes may also be offered a role as a fielding consultant in Ravi Shastri’s support staff during India’s tour of Sri Lanka, according to The Times of India.

The reports also suggest that there's no advantage in sticking to Zaheer Khan and Rahul Dravid as bowling and batting coach respectively when an option for the horses-for-courses policy is available. 

In a similar way, during India's tour of England, the BCCI is considering bringing in Jason Gillespie, who has previously worked with English county Yorkshire, to work with the team for 40 days. And depending on the conditions, the likes of Fannie De Villiers in South Africa and Zaheer Khan at home could be evaluated.   

This situation arose after the CoA also raised questions about Zaheer Khan’s full-time appointment while also expressing if India A and U-19 batting coach Rahul Dravid would be comfortable with the added responsibility. 

It is learnt that Ravi Shastri and Indian captain Virat Kohli, along with the rest of the team will work on comprising a new support staff consisting of Bharat Arun (bowling coach), Sanjay Bangar (batting) and R Sridhar (fielding coach). However, for overseas tours, the discussions for the likes of Jonty Rhodes and Jason Gillespie are still in process.  

Former team director and India captain Virat Kohli, along with the rest of the team will work on comprising a new support staff in place: Bharat Arun (bowling coach), Sanjay Bangar (batting) and R Sridhar (fielding coach).