Jonty Rhodes, who is considered one of the finest fielders of all time, shared his two cents on Virat Kohli's fielding attributes. The legendary batter has been ruled out of India's ongoing three-match ODI series against Afghanistan due to a hamstring injury.
Kohli is 37 years old now, but he is still one of the quickest and most agile fielders in world cricket. But is he the best fielder in Indian cricket? Rhodes doesn't feel so. The former South African cricketer said that Kohli is a great fielder but not
the best to have played for the Men in Blue. Rhodes noted that the Delhi-born's overly aggressive demeanour could be an issue for the team when things are not going well.
"It was so different to MS, from a captaincy point of view. But its consistent. Virat Kohli, when he bats, when he's in the field, when he's captain, that is what he does. When I am watching him as a fielding coach, I watch him. He's not the best fielder in India, but he's a great fielder. His energy is incredible. My only concern is that when he is overly aggressive, its great when everything is going good. But if things aren't going well for the team, where does that aggression go? It's too easy then to come out in a dressing room environment," Rhodes said during a conversation on Prakhar Gupta's YouTube channel.
Rhodes lauded Kohli the batter and mentioned that he was found wanting only in English conditions where the ball swings. However, the 56-year-old opined that every batter struggles when the ball moves in the air.
"As a generational player, I think the only thing he struggled with was the swing in England. But he's human. All of us struggle when the ball swings," he added.
Jonty Rhodes on comparison between Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar
Rhodes was asked about the constant comparison between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar. The Pietermaritzburg-born said that while Kohli could be slightly ahead in terms of records, there is no point comparing two of the greatest the game has ever seen.
"There is so much cricket. He's not getting downtime. I know he's playing only franchise cricket in India. But there's not a lot of downtime. His body, he's stronger and mentally and physically, he's in such great shape that he could be better than Tendulkar from a records point of view. I could ask the question a lot. Who's better? But why are you even trying to compare them? Isn't it amazing that India have produced these two most amazing generational batters? Straight after each other," he said.
Rhodes added that India should celebrate the fact that they got two stalwarts of the game in quick succession and stop comparing their achievements.
"The fact that it wasn't a ten-year gap that India had this great player and ten years later somebody. Not just their contribution with the bat but their contribution to the inspiration of that generation. It should be celebrated rather than compared. One country has these two players that between them have inspired billions. It's incredible that these two have overlapped," he expressed.
