Jonty Rhodes compares Rohit Sharma to South African great Jacques Kallis

Rohit Sharma has led Mumbai Indians to three IPL titles

What's the story?

Former South African cricketer and fielding coach of Mumbai Indians, Jonty Rhodes, has compared his Protea teammate Jacques Kallis to Indians' skipper Rohit Sharma.

Rhodes, who has seen both these players from close quarters, feels that both of them have similar traits that may not be visible up front. Talking to the official website of the Tamil Nadu Premier League, Rhodes also pointed that Rohit is a laid-back kind of guy when it comes to both his batting and captaincy.

"Rohit looks like a laid-back kind of guy. Remember Jacques Kallis saying how people were critical of his approach and he didn’t look like a guy who was trying. He was a bit like a duck on water; you only see the duck above the water but underneath the feet are paddling to stay in place.

"He had a bit of a calm exterior, like Lance Klusener back in my day. It looked like everything is under control, but Jacques said he is fluttering hard and fast underneath and Rohit is like that too. When you watch him at the crease when he is batting it looks like he will fall asleep but he cracks you for six, it is ridiculous! With the timing that he has. His captaincy is similar. He is not a firebrand like Kohli, which you need to be sometimes," Rhodes said.

In case you didn't know...

Jonty Rhodes has played 52 Tests and 245 ODIs for South Africa in a career spanning 11 years from 1992 to 2003. He is regarded as the greatest fielder ever to have graced the sport.

Rhodes has been the fielding coach for Mumbai Indians for a while and was an integral part of the team in all their three championship-winning seasons. Rhodes has been roped in as the mentor of TNPL side Ruby Trichy Warriors.

The details

When asked about Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni as captains, Rhodes added that there should not be any comparisons between two captains. A player should be himself and not touted as another Sachin Tendulkar. Likewise, Kohli cannot be another Dhoni as both are different characters and totally different personalities.

Video

Author's take

Rhodes is someone who has seen both Kallis and Rohit from close quarters. Still, there is no need to compare them as both are different kinds of players with different styles and different sets of skills.