It’s official. Former South Africa international Morne Morkel has been appointed the bowling coach of India’s men’s cricket team. Confirming the development to Sportstar, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah said that Morkel will join the team ahead of India’s Test series against Bangladesh, beginning on September 19.
Morkel, one of South Africa’s tearaway fast bowlers, had previously worked with the Pakistan cricket team, apart from his stints in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Lucknow Super Giants. After Gautam Gambhir became the head coach last month, he decided to bring in Morkel as the bowling coach, while Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate were roped in as assistant coaches.
Sportstar understands that Morne’s tenure as the bowling coach will begin from September 1 and, like the other support staff, he will also be offered a three-year contract, till the 2027 World Cup.
The 39-year-old, who has featured in 86 Tests and 117 ODIs along with 44 T20Is for South Africa and formed one of the most lethal South African fast bowling attacks, along with Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander, that went on to dominate world batters across formats.
After calling it quits at 33, Morkel featured in county cricket before getting into coaching. His first big international assignment was as Pakistan’s bowling coach, and he worked closely with Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah leading up to the ODI World Cup last year. However, he resigned after Pakistan’s dismal outing in the tournament.
He shares a good rapport with Gambhir and as per initial plans, Morkel was scheduled to take over ahead of India’s tour to Sri Lanka. However, family commitments forced him to miss out on the assignment and Sairaj Bahutule had to step in.
Sources in the Board indicate that Morkel will reach India in the second week of September and will be part of the proposed week-long camp in Chennai ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.
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