Morne Morkel has been confirmed as the bowling coach of Team India, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The former South Africa fast bowler will take charge from the home Test series against Bangladesh next month. The opener is in Chennai from September 19.
As already reported by The Telegraph, Morkel was supposed to join the squad on their recent white-ball tour of Sri Lanka but couldn’t because of personal issues. The National Cricket Academy’s Sairaj Bahutule served in an interim capacity for the six matches.
Gautam Gambhir, who replaced Rahul Dravid as head coach after the T20 World Cup, is understood to have recommended Morkel’s name to the BCCI. He had previously worked with him for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL. The two also shared the dressing room at Kolkata Knight Riders when Gambhir was the captain.
Morkel had also been the bowling coach of Pakistan during the 2023 ODI World Cup but quit following their disastrous performance in the tournament.
India will be playing 10 Test matches till January, including a five-Test tour of Australia, and Morkel’s appointment has largely been done keeping that in mind.
Morkel is expected to work in tandem with NCA chief VVS Laxman and head of bowling Troy Cooley.
However, the role of Bahutule isn’t still clear. There’s a possibility that the former India leg spinner could be retained in the set-up since he could be of use during the upcoming series against Bangladesh and New Zealand.
There’s talk that Gambhir wants to build a pool of pacers and spinners, keeping in mind the challenges ahead, and Bahutule could continue in a consultant’s role
Gambhir’s support staff currently also includes Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate as assistant coaches. T Dilip, who served under Dravid, continues as the
fielding coach.
Bharat Arun and Paras Mhambrey had successfully served as bowling coach under Ravi Shastri and Dravid, respectively, moulding the unit into one of the most fearsome attacks in the world.
How the bowlers perform under Morkel will be keenly watched, especially during the series in Australia, given the exalted standards set
by his predecessors.
He did a splendid job with Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah during the T20 World Cup in 2022. He, however, had failed to build a back-up line and it showed in their performance once injuries sidelined Naseem and Afridi.
Morkel played 86 Tests, 117 ODIs and 44 T20Is during his 12-year international career with 544 wickets. He also worked with New Zealand at the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup and with Namibia at the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Morkel formed an enterprising combination with Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander during his playing days and the attack was regarded one of the most lethal across all formats.
