- Thursday, February 20, 2025
The 39-year-old South African will take over as the bowling coach from the Bangladesh series that starts with the opening Test in Chennai from September 19
By: Shajil Kumar
FORMER South Africa pace great Morne Morkel has been roped in as the Indian cricket team’s new bowling coach, BCCI secretary Jay Shah told PTI on Wednesday.
It is understood that the 39-year-old, who replaces Paras Mhambrey, will take over as the bowling coach from the Bangladesh series that starts with the opening Test in Chennai from September 19.
He has been appointed till the end of the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa.
“Yes, Morne Morkel has been appointed bowling coach of the senior India men’s team,” Shah told PTI.
The other members of Gambhir’s support staff are assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, and fielding coach Ryan Ten Doeschate.
Morkel was also Gambhir’s preferred choice, having worked with him at Lucknow Super Giants during the Indian’s two IPL seasons as mentor of the franchise.
Morkel has played 86 Tests, 117 ODIs and 44 T20Is for South Africa with a total of 544 international wickets.
He will be reporting in Bengaluru’s National Cricket Academy at the start of next month and is expected to watch the Duleep Trophy games.
According to sources, Morkel was directly appointed on Gambhir’s recommendation ahead of other options like Lakshmipathy Balaji and R Vinay Kumar.
It is understood that Balaji and Vinay’s names weren’t considered once it was clear that Morkel would carry forward the good work done by Mhambrey.
One half of the famous fast bowling duo that featured Dale Steyn, Morkel is a cricketing heavyweight and has also played quite a lot in India to have a fair idea about the conditions.
Also, his stint in the IPL has allowed him to have a ringside view of India’s next crop of fast bowlers including the most exciting of them all – Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan and Yash Thakur to name a few.
A lot of observers believe that Morkel worked quite a lot with Mayank during the past two seasons of IPL even though he remained injured for the better part.
Morkel’s biggest challenge will be to handle the transition phase as Mohammed Shami enters the business end of his illustrious career and Jasprit Bumrah needs more potent support apart from Mohammed Siraj, especially in red-ball cricket.
Morkel had last year worked with the Pakistan team till the end of the ODI World Cup and quit before his contract expired. (PTI)
