I feel that there is a lack of unity in the South African team: Jonty Rhodes

Jonty Rhodes, a former South African cricketer, was one of the most remarkable fielders of his time. He was known for his on-ground fielding efforts. Rhodes was a middle-order batsman who featured in 52 Tests and 245 ODIs for the Proteas and scored more than 8,000 international runs for his team. Recently, the former South African cricketer had laid down his opinion over the situation of cricket in his country.

He has been the part of franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a fielding coach. The most interesting fact about Rhodes cricket career is that he is majorly known more for his fielding contribution than his batting. He always looked like a born fielder and was the first player to be awarded Man of the Match for his efforts in the fielding during a first-class match.

Currently, the national team of South Africa is on their away tour of India. They have finished their T20I assignment and one Test but they are still to play the other two remaining Tests in the subcontinent country.

Rhodes opines over South Africa cricket after senior players retirement

In an interview, the former player was asked about how the retirement of the players like AB De Villiers, Hashim Amla, and Dale Steyn has impacted the team. The former player feels that it is their experience that has been missed. “It’s hard to replace Steyn, Amla or De Villiers. We have great fast bowlers in the side. We have guys who have got the skills, but have they done it before? No. The experience is what South Africa is going to miss and they have got a brand new management team.” Rhodes said as quoted by The New Indian Express.

Rhodes also talked about the criticism that he has had to face in his country due to his statements. But he feels that there’s lacks of unity in the team. “I got a lot of flak in South Africa after I spoke about the lack of unity in the South African team. What I meant was that apart from the senior players that you have spoken about, we don’t have a coaching staff. It’s an interim coaching staff,” he added

The 50-year-old former player was the fielding coach of Mumbai Indians in IPL 2019 and had recently applied for the position of fielding coach of Team India although he remained unsuccessful in getting his hold on that position.

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