Jonty Rhodes, cricketer biography

Jonty Rhodes, cricketer

Interview-with-Jonty-Rhodes

If you weren’t a cricketer, you’d have been…
A teacher like my parents. And in a way, that is exactly what I’m doing as a coach.

One player against whom your fielding plans have mostly gone awry.
Sachin Tendulkar. His shots have such good angles that it becomes difficult to anticipate where he would go next.

How do you get your daily dose of adrenaline?
I watch a scary movie or go mountain biking to keep my adrenaline pumping.

If you were a Bollywood actor, who would you want as your leading lady?
Since most leading ladies in Bollywood are much younger than I am, I guess no one.

The best thing you’ve held in your hands.
As a father of two kids, the answer is not difficult to guess.

One thing you always did right before a match?
I could never sit still. I would keep jumping and stretching. I could never sit and meditate quietly. I used to soak in the energy around me.

A gadget you can’t live without.
My iPhone.

The biggest risk you’ve taken.
I’d gone snowboarding with an explorer in Switzerland. After a few hours, I lost control of the board near a small avalanche. But somehow, I
survived.

One piece of advice you wish someone had given you 10 years ago.
To not get into coaching (just kidding). I have no regrets.

Jonty Rhodes

Four things we’d find on your bedside table.

My phone, a charger, a book and a bottle of water.

Your first crush.
My school teacher. I was 14 at the time.

Your strategy in a crisis situation.
Smile your way through it.

The craziest rumour you have heard about yourself.
It has to be my link-up with Poonam Pandey. I feel like I could’ve helped her if she needed to practice stripping for the Indian team, but she was shy and ran away.

One thing that is definitely on your bucket list.
The one thing I really want to do is to ride a Royal Enfield to Ladakh.

Cricketers you admire and why.
Hansie Cronje, because the two of us grew up together. Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Brian Lara for their batting styles. Shane Warne. At times, he can make you look stupid!

Birthday
July 27

SUN SIGN
Leo

Place of birth
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

Hometown
Durban

School/college
University of KwaZulu-Natal

FIRST BREAK
Scoring a century in my debut match. And funnily, according to the team sheet, I wasn’t supposed to play that day

Low point of your life
Losing Hansie Cronje

HIGH point of your life
My first cricket match for South Africa. It changed my life

CURRENTLY DOING
Playing fielding coach for Mumbai Indians and anchoring a show on NDTV Good Times