Morne Morkel becomes new Indian bowling coach

Former South African fast bowler Morne Morkel has been appointed the bowling coach of the Indian men’s national cricket team.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah confirmed the news on Friday (August 16th) about the new Indian bowling coach. Morne Morkel will start his work with the Indian team on September 1st. 

Morkel will work with the recently appointed Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir. Their first mission will be the Chennai Test against Bangladesh, starting on September 19th. The upcoming Bangladesh tour of India will have a two-match Test series and a three-match T20I series. The India vs Bangladesh Test series will be a part of the 2023-2025 ICC World Test Championship. 

Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate are the assistant coaches of the present Indian cricket team. In the meantime, T Dilip, the fielding coach under Rahul Dravid, has maintained his role under Gambhir. 

According to media reports, Morkel could not join the Indian team during the recently concluded Sri Lanka tour due to personal issues. 

Morne Morkel and Gautam Gambhir previously worked together for Lucknow Super Giants

Morkel and Gambhir previously worked together for the Indian Premier League team Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Gambhir was the mentor of LSG for their first two seasons (2022 and 2023), while Morkel was the LSG bowling coach for their first three seasons (2022, 2023, and 2024).

During the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, which was played in India, Morkel worked as the bowling coach of the Pakistan national cricket team. 

Morne Morkel was one of the greatest South African fast bowlers

Morne Morkel served for the South African national cricket team between December 2006 and April 2018. He played 86 Tests, 117 ODIs, and 44 T20Is, where the right-arm fast bowler took 309, 188, and 47 wickets, respectively. With 535 international wickets, Morkel is the sixth most international wicket-taker as a South African bowler.