Ravindra Jadeja is a complete all-round fielder: Jonty Rhodes

Jonty Rhodes. (Source – Jonty Rhodes)

Jonty Rhodes was known for his quick reflexes on the field as the former South African cricketer is considered as one of the best fielders to grace the sport. He has been associated with the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a fielding coach for several teams and is presently with Lucknow Super Giants. But the veteran has picked Ravindra Jadeja as the “complete all-round” fielder in the world currently.

Jadeja has been a lawnmower on the field as batters try not to hit in his area greedy for a single or double. The same has been evident in some of his breathtaking direct throws and stunning catches. Other than Jadeja, another cricketer who set the fielding standards high was Suresh Raina. The former India cricketer was another pick of Rhodes as he termed him as his ‘favourite.’

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“I am a big fan of Suresh Raina. I enjoyed his playing days but now he has retired. In the past in India, the cricketing infrastructure wasn’t there to support the passion and love for cricket. Suresh Raina was someone who used to throw himself around the field,” said Rhodes, as quoted by The Telegraph.

“Unlike Raina, I had a very fortunate upbringing. I played football, hockey and cricket on good grounds. So I was very fortunate. I think Jadeja is at the next level, he doesn’t dive as much but he is so fast to the ball. And his accuracy at throwing down the stumps is somewhat like Ricky Ponting. He fields on the boundary, he fields on the circle. He is a complete all-round fielder,” he added.

The 55-year-old had an illustrious 11 years of cricketing journey where he grabbed 139 catches. He was the first South African to pluck 100 catches in ODIs. In 245 ODIs, he scored 5935 runs at an average of 35.11. Moreover, he was also part of South Africa’s hockey team, which travelled to Barcelona for the 1992 Olympics.