Morne Morkel appointed as Team India bowling coach, tenure starts from September 1

Mangalore Today News Network

Mumbai, August 15, 2024: Former South Africa international Morne Morkel has been appointed the bowling coach of India’s men’s team. His contract is set to start from September 1, as per reports.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah confirmed the development and Morkel will join Abhishek Nayar, Ryan ten Doeschate and T Dilip in Gautam Gambhir-led coaching staff.

While the rest joined the team before the limited-overs series vs Sri Lanka, the formalities weren’t completed with Morkel and Sairaj Bahutule travelled with the side as what looked like a stop-gap arrangement.

As CricketNext had reported earlier, Morkel was always going to join after the tour of Sri Lanka due to some personal reasons and it looks like he will link up with the squad before the preparations get underway in Chennai ahead of the Tests vs Bangladesh

Before taking up India role, Morkel’s last international assignment was with the Pakistan cricket team where he served as the bowling coach.

The seamer continued with his league commitments and remained bowling coach of Lucknow Supergiants. Morkel worked with Gambhir at LSG for two years before Gambhir moved base to KKR for the 2024 edition.

Both Gambhir and Morkel have a lot of mutual respect for each other and the former India cricketer has been a big fan of his bowling since their playing days.

India have a packed calendar ahead where they play as many as ten Tests, including five in Australia, plenty of bilateral T20Is and then the Champions Trophy next year. Majority of cricket this year however will be at home and the season gets underway with the Test vs Bangladesh in Chennai from September 19.

Prior to the series, all eyes will be on Duleep Trophy as lot of India Test players are likely to feature in the prestigious multi-day tournament to get their preparations for the red-ball season underway.