The coaching structure changed when Gautam Gambhir joined the Indian team as head coach because the veteran required his favourite men in the background. Amidst the commotion around the new coaching structure, former cricketer Jonty Rhodes of South Africa had publicly declared his intention to serve as the Indian team’s fielding coach.
Even if the BCCI chose to extend T Dilip’s tenure as India’s fielding coach, the veteran appears to have remained true to his wish. Actor Dev Adhikari and Bengali filmmaker Srijit Mukerji were promoting their movie Tekka. At the Shanty Pally Pujo in Kolkata, they just so happened to run across Jonty. When Jonty was asked about his role as fielding coach, he responded by saying that he was wearing a blue kurta in order to enter the setup.
When do you plan to take over as India’s fielding coach, Mukerji?
Jonty Rhode: I am, nevertheless, waiting for the call while wearing blue!
Mukerji captioned the Instagram photo, saying, “What a delightful interaction at Shanti Pally Pujo inauguration as a part of #Tekka promotions with THE Jonty Rhodes! (sic).”
Here’s Mukerji’s latest post on Instagram:
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The board granted Gambhir’s demand for his teammate and coach for the Kolkata Knight Riders, Abhishek Nayar, to serve as assistant coach. Ryan Ten Doeschate, a KKR associate of Gambhir, was also brought in by the Indian team to serve as an assistant coach.
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In addition, the former India opener was hesitant to have a bowling coach save Morner Morkel, who eventually joined the Indian team in advance of the Bangladesh series.