New Delhi: All is reportedly not well between India head coach Gautam Gambhir and bowling coach Morne Morkel. Morkel was reportedly reprimanded by Gambhir for turning up late at one of India’s training sessions during their recently concluded tour of Australia. India’s 3-1 defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 has opened a can of worms with multiple reports highlighting the chaos in the Indian dressing room.
Head coach Gambhir is facing the heat from all corners following India’s disastrous show Down Under. India have endured an abysmal run in Tests ever since Gambhir took over as the head coach of the team, suffering back-to-back series defeats against New Zealand and Australia. Rohit Sharma & Co. were clean-swept 0-3 by New Zealand at home before losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1 in Australia.
A report in the Times of India has revealed that the relationship between Gambhir and Morkel hit a rocky patch during the Australia tour after the India head coach reprimanded the bowling coach for being late to a training session. Morkel arrived late at the training session due to a personal meeting before that.
The matter was brought up during BCCI’s review meeting which was held recently to asses India’s performance Down Under. During the meeting, the BCCI officials were told about the incident and a source claimed that Morkel was reserved for the rest of the tour after being reprimanded by Gambhir on the ground.
“Gambhir is very strict about discipline. He reprimanded Morkel immediately at the ground. The board has been told that Morkel was a bit reserved during the rest of the tour. It’s up to these two to sort it out for the team to function smoothly,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
Morkel’s role as bowling was questioned during India’s tour of Australia where Jasprit Bumrah often found himself single-handedly carrying India’s pace attack with little or no support from the other pacers. Morkel’s role was also under the scanner when Indian bowlers performed poorly in the New Zealand Test series at home where the Kiwi spinners dominated the proceedings.
India to return to action in home series against England
Team India will return to action next when they take on England in a five-match T20I series at home. The series will get underway on January 22 with the first T20I to be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The T20I rubber will be followed by a three-match ODI series between the two teams which will kick off on Thursday, February 06.
The white-ball tour will serve as preparatory ground for India ahead of the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. India will look to test their combinations and get the players into the ODI mode ahead of the all-important tournament.
Gautam Gambhir reportedly reprimanded India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel for turning up late at one of the team’s training session during their recently concluded tour of Australia. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
