The mystery about who will be India’s new bowling coach has been solved. BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced that it will be Morne Morkel, a former South African fast bowler, who will start working with Gautam Gambhir’s coaching team in the first week of September.
Morkel and Gambhir have a long history together. They not only played together for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL but also collaborated with the Lucknow Super Giants for two seasons in 2022 and 2023. Gambhir was with LSG for two years before moving back to KKR, while Morkel stayed on as the team’s bowling coach.
Gambhir had the freedom to create his team of assistants, with many good choices available. He chose to work with his reliable partners Abhishek Nayar, Ryan ten Doeschate (who both had experience with him at KKR), and Morkel.
As reported by the news agency PTI, the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) was responsible for interviewing candidates for the head coach position. The chosen coach would then have the liberty to select their own team of assistants.
“The group in charge of giving advice on cricket had to talk to the people who wanted to be the main coach. It was very important that Gambhir’s pick for the other coaches was the one chosen. He has worked with Morne before and really likes him as a bowling coach,” someone from the BCCI, the group that manages cricket in India, told PTI.
“Also, there’s a big series against Australia happening in Australia starting from the end of November. There’s no better choice than the South African coach, who has had some good results playing there himself. Plus, there will be a five-Test series in England next year, and maybe a sixth game if India makes it to the World Test Championship final,” the person added.
Morkel will take over the position from Paras Mhambrey. According to the report, once it was clear that the South African would join the coaching team, the names of Balaji and Vinay were no longer considered.
Morkel, who is 39 years old, played 86 Test matches, 117 One Day Internationals (ODIs), and 44 T20 Internationals for South Africa from 2006 to 2018. He took 544 wickets in international matches across different formats and is considered one of the best fast bowlers in the game.
He has played 70 Indian Premier League (IPL) matches for teams like Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Daredevils, and Kolkata Knight Riders, giving him plenty of experience playing in Indian conditions.
