New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) A breathtaking fielding effort from Shreyas Iyer during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, with the Punjab Kings skipper pulling off a remarkable boundary save-cum-catch to dismiss Hardik Pandya recently, has caught the attention of Jonty Rhodes, widely regarded as one of the finest fielders the game has seen.

The sheer athleticism of the moment left players from the Mumbai dugout, including Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit Sharma, visibly stunned, underlining just how extraordinary the effort was.

Several former cricketers and experts, including batting great Sachin Tendulkar, praised Iyer for his brilliance on the field.

The latest to weigh in was South African great Jonty Rhodes, who reflected on the evolution of fielding standards and shared his thoughts in a post on X.

“Watching Shreyas Iyer perform that acrobatic fielding to assist in taking the ‘team catch’ made me appreciate how fielding has evolved since my retirement. For a long time, I felt like the ‘father of fielding’, but watching these modern athletes with their timing and awareness on the boundary line, makes me feel like the ‘grandfather of fielding’!” Rhodes wrote.

Rhodes also spoke about how boundary fielding has evolved over time, noting that such skills weren’t always a major focus during his playing days.

“I spent 99% of my career fielding in the inner circle, and when I started working as a fielding coach, there was no focus on the modern-day ‘hotspots’ on the boundaries. It was only when I started working with Mumbai Indians and saw Kieron Pollard, and then Glenn Maxwell, performing these incredible ‘airborne saves’ on the boundaries that we started focusing on not only taking catches off balls that were already beyond the rope, but even saving the ball from going for a sixer, and forcing the batters to run only 1 or 2,” the Proteas legend added

Highlighting the broader significance of such moments, Rhodes explained how impactful fielding efforts can energise a side, particularly in the modern T20 game.

“With impact players transforming the way that batters can continuously attack the bowling, even with the loss of 4-5 wickets, bowlers need to be backed up by their fielders, and Shreyas’ spectacular ‘catch and release’ was a perfect example of that. But let’s face it; when your head coach is Ricky Ponting, one of the greatest fielders in the game, it should not come as a great surprise to see such incredible feats in the field!,” he concluded.

–IANS

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