During his playing days Jonty Rhodes was unarguably the best fielder in world cricket and was one of the few players to win a Man of the Match award just for his fielding. He is now the fielding coach of the Mumbai Indians. In an interview at a promotional event he speaks about a variety of topics.

Q) Jonty, you were one of the best fielders of your time, but since you retired, the fielding has improved tremendously, hasn’t it?

A) And it’s all because I am the fielding coach of the world, he says with a laugh. There is a lot of expectation on the players. I was the best fielder because I was the only player. There was nobody else. It was easy to be number 1, because there was no number 2 or number 3 who wanted to dive round the field. Nowadays, people now know the importance of saving 1 run. That’s the message for my players in the IPL. It doesn’t have to be 4s and 6s, just save 1 run.

Q) Do you have any favourites, your favourite fielder at the moment?

A) Most definitely, Suresh Raina. Virat Kohli has got an incredible arm. He’s very competitive in the field, but as a captain he’s always thinking about other things like bowling changes and field placements. Suresh Raina reminds me of me. If I was a player now and I had a role model from the fielding point of view, I would certainly look at Suresh Raina

Q) How was it like working with Sachin Tendulkar?

A) I used to love watching him bat as long as he wasn’t playing against me. Now having worked with him in the IPL, it was an incredible experience. You need players, you need them scoring runs and sometimes it’s about what they can offer in the dressing room. To have that sort of player in your team in the dressing room, its great stuff.

Q) You are here for the launch of the selection camp of the IJPL (Junior Players League). Your thoughts on the tournament?

A) I have come and worked with the IPL players. Some of them have expensive or good pay checks and have played international cricket. I have always arrived in India and wondered where these guys come from. It’s a country of more than 1.2 billion people and there’s such a passion for the game. It’s difficult for everybody to get an opportunity. It’s great to see that there are platforms outside what is offered in the traditional sense of the word. This tournament is a showcase, a talent hunt giving the guys an opportunity to get out there and say that I want to be the next star for India.

Quotes taken from www.thequint.com