Having worked closely with Gautam Gambhir, Jonty Rhodes is well aware of the latter’s work ethic. Gambhir was Lucknow Super Giants mentor for two seasons and worked alongside their fielding coach Rhodes as the franchise made the playoffs two seasons in a row. While Rhodes remains associated with LSG, Gambhir moved to Kolkata Knight Riders for a season as mentor with the franchise winning IPL 2024 before joining the Indian cricket team as head coach in July this year.
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Rhodes says Gambhir is someone who speaks his mind and backed him to take the Indian team to greater heights. “Wherever GG (Gambhir) goes he makes an impact, we saw this when he left the Lucknow Super Giants and went to the Kolkata Knight Riders the impact that he had,” Rhodes told PTI .
“He is very much a hands-on guy and is certainly somebody who knows what he wants and speaks his own mind. Gambhir leaves no stone unturned, and now that he has taken over the reigns of the Indian team, they will go from strength to strength,” he added.
After Gambhir’s departure, LSG have turned to another India legend in Zaheer Khan to takeover as their mentor. Rhodes welcomed the decision saying the former India fast bowler’s calm head will help the side get through tense situations during a game.
“A calm cricketing mind is what you need at the IPL level, especially in the dugout scenario. You need people with calm heads because it gets very tense,” Rhodes said.
“If emotions start to get the better of you it impacts everybody sitting in the dug-out or on the field. In such situations, it is great to have someone like Zak (Zaheer), because he brings the skills and the knowledge, and he also brings the mojo,” he added.
Rhodes has worked with Zaheer as well during their time with five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians as part of the franchise’s backroom staff,
“We have worked together at Mumbai Indians and he (Zaheer) is technically very sound indeed,” he said.
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