Former South African fast bowler Morne Morkel has been appointed as the new bowling coach of the Indian cricket team, reported news agency PTI citing BCCI secretary Jay Shah.
Morkel's contract is set to begin on September 1, which means his first assignment with Team India will be the home Test against Bangladesh that starts from September 19. He has been appointed till the end of the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa.
"Yes, Morne Morkel has been appointed bowling coach of the senior India men's team," Shah told PTI.
He will be reporting in Bengaluru's National Cricket Academy at the start of next month and is expected to watch the Duleep Trophy games. Once there, he will also touch base with VVS Laxman and head of bowling in NCA, Troy Cooley.
Morkel brings a wealth of experience. During his glittering career, he represented South Africa in 86 Tests, 117 ODIs and 44 T20Is, claiming 309, 188, and 47 wickets, respectively. With Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander, Morkel formed one of the most lethal attacks in world cricket that went on to terrorise batters across the globe in all formats.
After hanging his boots from international cricket at 33, the lanky fast bowler played county cricket before trying his hand at coaching. His first big international assignment was as Pakistan's bowling coach. He did a splendid job with Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah in the lead-up to the 2023 ODI World Cup. After Pakistan's poor show in the 50-over world tournament in India, Morkel decided not to continue.
{{/usCountry}}After hanging his boots from international cricket at 33, the lanky fast bowler played county cricket before trying his hand at coaching. His first big international assignment was as Pakistan's bowling coach. He did a splendid job with Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah in the lead-up to the 2023 ODI World Cup. After Pakistan's poor show in the 50-over world tournament in India, Morkel decided not to continue.
{{/usCountry}}Morkel and head coach Gautam Gambhir go back a long way. They have shared the dressing room at Kolkata Knight Riders for three seasons. The duo also worked together at the Lucknow Super Giants, where Gambhir was the mentor and Morkel was the bowling coach. He, in fact remained as LSG's bowling coach even after Gambhir moved to KKR ahead of this season.
Morkel joins the assistant coaches Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate, and fielding coach T Dilip.
Nayar, Dilip, and ten Doeschate were in Sri Lanka as part of India's support staff, but Morkel, who was in Australia with his family, could not be roped in as the final discussions were ongoing.
During the Sri Lanka tour, NCA bowling coach Sairaj Bahutulle was the interim bowling coach.
Morkel replaces former India pacer Paras Mhambrey in the role. Mhambrey had a great stint under head coach Rahul Dravid. Their contract ended with India claiming the T20 World Cup trophy in June this year.
An official confirmation from the BCCI regarding the appointment of any support staff member is awaited.
Morkel will begin his career as the bowling coach in the home season, including two Tests and three T20Is against Bangladesh, followed by three Tests against New Zealand. His big test, however, will be the Australia tour in December-January. Against all odds, India won the Test series in Australia during their last two tours. They would be keen for an improbable hat-trick and continue their dominance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.