Former South Africa batter Jonty Rhodes is widely regarded as one of the best fielders the game has ever seen. He, when asked to name the current top three fielders in the world, said there is only one top-quality fielder in world cricket and that is Jadeja.
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“Right now, there is only one – Ravindra Jadeja,” said Rhodes
Jonty Rhodes has also narrated how IPL has played a key role in improving the fielding standards of cricketers across the globe.
“It is T20 cricket specifically, not just limited overs. Only when IPL began, people really started focusing on fielding. Not every team had fielding coaches. There was enough time in 50-over matches. You had 3-4 good fielders and 6-7 guys didn’t do great. But once IPL started, we saw growth in fielding. Since 2008, around 12-13 years have been amazing. Earlier, people spoke about fielding but there were only 3-4 good individuals. But now, as a team we have seen the growth of fielding go through the roof.
“It is not difficult to focus on fielding because it is a discipline. We have fielding coaches and their job is to make the work done. Just like batting and bowling, it is a part of daily practice. As a fielding coach, I am not requesting players, I am getting them into fielding rules. Fielding now is an important part of cricket,” he said.