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Jonty praises Dravid's leadership
"He is a capable leader, who motivates younger players," said Rhodes whose electric fielding drew many spectators during his playing days.
Skipper Rahul Dravid's leadership qualities came in for praise from former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes on Wednesday.
"He is a capable leader, who motivates younger players. The decision of Indian Selectors in making him captain is the right choice," he told reporters on the sidelines of a product launch function.
On the Indian ODI squad, he said it was a "well-balanced team with a lot of youngsters. You have youngsters like Dhoni and R P Singh," he said.
On the prospects of the South African side in the one-dayer at Kolkata, he said the team was full of talent. "Fast bowlers are our strength. I hope the pitch will not be slow and give equal chance to the bowlers and batsmen," he said.
Rhodes, whose electric fielding drew many spectators during his playing days, said fielding was the most important aspect of the game. "A good fielder can bring down the total of the rival team by 20 to 30 runs, thereby reducing the burden on the bowlers."
Rhodes, who also has played hockey, had some advice for the youngsters, saying playing hockey improves one's fielding. "My fielding improved a lot due to my playing hockey," he said.
Rhodes said Herschelle Gibbs was best fielder in the world currently while rating Mohamed Kaif and Yuvraj Singh as the best fielders on the Indian side.
On Sourav Ganguly's removal as Indian skipper, Rhodes said, "I do understand his feelings of being dropped from the one day squad and his removal from the captaincy. I also felt bad when I was dropped from the South African side. But he has played for the past ten years. Nowadays, a player does not get that much chance".
He said he would be conducting a fielding clinic in Mumbai for three days from November 27 for fifteen young Indian cricketers.
Rhodes, who had given tips to the South African team on fielding here, said cricketers should enjoy fielding and should not get bored when asked to field.
