New Delhi: Former South African pace bowler Morne Morkel has joined the race for the Indian men’s cricket team new bowling coach. The 39-year-old is reportedly said to have discussions with the newly-appointed Indian team head coach Gautam Gambhir for the role.
Gambhir and Morkel worked together first during the 2014 IPL season when the latter was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 2.8 crores. Morkel was part of KKR’s triumphant campaign in 2014 under Gambhir, his second title as their captain.
According to a Cricbuzz report, Gambhir is believed to have requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to consider Morkel for the bowling coach role of the Indian men’s cricket team.
Earlier it was reported that former Indian quicks Lakshmipathy Balaji and R. Vinay Kumar were linked for the bowling coach role apart from the BCCI planning to consider Zaheer Khan for the same. The Indian board will take a call in the upcoming week over the support staff of Gautam Gambhir.
Does Morne Morkel has any experience in coaching before?
Ever since his retirement from international cricket in 2018, Morkel has been working in various coaching capacities with different international and franchise teams. He was part of Namibia’s coaching staff during the T20 World Cup 2022 and later joined New Zealand women’s team coaching staff for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa.
Morkel served as the bowling coach of the Pakistan national cricket team until the 2023 World Cup. He has been bowling coach of Lucknow Super Giants (Indian Premier League) and its sister franchise Durban’s Super Giants (SA20). He continued to be the bowling coach at LSG even after Gambhir’s departure to KKR as their mentor in IPL 2024.
Morkel played 86 Tests, 117 One-Day Internationals, and 44 T20 Internationals for the Proteas men between 2006 and 2018, having accounted for 544 international dismissals across formats.
Gautam Gambhir and Morne Morkel worked together first during the 2014 IPL season when the latter was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 2.8 crores. Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
