Former South Africa fast bowler, Morne Morkel has been officially announced as the bowling coach of the Indian Cricket Team. BCCI secretary, Jay Shah confirmed the development to PTI.
Amidst that, an old video of India’s current head coach, Gautam Gambhir praising Morne Morkel has gone viral on the internet. In the video clip, Gambhir can be heard stating that Morne Morkel was the most dangerous bowler that he had ever faced due to the steep bounce he produced and his ability to trouble batters with pace.
Due to the same reason, Gautam Gambhir-led KKR also roped in Morne Morkel in their squad in the Indian Premier League. The video clip has now been doing the rounds on social media. You can watch it here:
Morne Morkel roped in as bowling coach on Gautam Gambhir’s recommendation- Reports
For the past seven years, BCCI has preferred to keep all Indian coaching staff. However, the new head coach, Gautam Gambhir expressed his desire to rope in the likes of Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate as the assistant coaches. Both of them accompanied Gambhir for his first assignment in Sri Lanka.
Morne Morkel has been appointed as India’s bowling coach (Image Credits: X)
Moreover, South Africa’s former fast bowler Morne Morkel has also been appointment the bowling coach on Gambhir’s recommendations.
“The Cricket Advisory Committee’s (CAC) mandate was to interview the candidates for the head coach. When it came to choice of support staff, it was imperative that Gambhir’s choice prevailed. He has worked with Morne and thinks of him highly as a bowling coach,” a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Morne Morkel played for South African Cricket Team in 86 Tests, 117 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), and 44 T20Is. He has always troubled the best of batters with steep bounce and pace, due to the height that he possessed.
Morkel played an integral part under Gautam Gambhir in KKR. Moreover, he was the bowling coach of Lucknow Super Giants for two consecutive seasons in 2022 and 2023 when Gambhir was the team’s mentor.
He also served as the bowling coach of the Pakistan Cricket Team during ODI World Cup 2023 in India.