Former South African batter Jonty Rhodes said Virat Kohli is a great fielder but he is not the best fielder, India has ever produced. Rhodes highlighted that Kohli is always aggressive on the field, which is great when the team is in a commanding position.
However, he highlighted that it is not a great thing to be overly aggressive when the team is on the backfoot. Kohli is well known for his agility and energy and is known to wear his heart on his sleeve.
“It was so different to MS, from a captaincy point of view. But its consistent. Virat Kohli, when he bats, when he’s in the field, when he’s captain, that is what he does. When I am watching him as a fielding coach, I watch him. He’s not the best fielder in India, but he’s a great fielder. His energy is incredible. My only concern is that when he is overly aggressive, its great when everything is going good. But if things aren’t going well for the team, where does that aggression go? It’s too easy then to come out in a dressing room environment,” Jonty Rhodes said during a conversation on Prakhar Gupta’s YouTube channel.
Rhodes said Kohli had struggled to get going in swingy English conditions on the 2014 tour. Kohli had managed only 134 runs in five Test matches against England.
“As a generational player, I think the only thing he struggled with was the swing in England. But he’s human. All of us struggle when the ball swings.”
Rhodes, who was known for his brilliant fielding, also shed light on the comparisons between Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar.
“There is so much cricket. He’s not getting downtime. I know he’s playing only franchise cricket in India. But there’s not a lot of downtime. His body, he’s stronger and mentally and physically, he’s in such great shape that he could be better than Tendulkar from a records point of view. I could ask the question a lot. Who’s better? But why are you even trying to compare them? Isn’t it amazing that India have produced these two most amazing generational batters? Straight after each other,” he said.
The veteran Indian batter is currently out of action for Afghanistan ODIs as he suffered a hamstring injury in the IPL 2026 final against Gujarat Titans.
