Bowling coach Morne Morkel ‘Blown Away’ by Indian pacers after first training session in Chennai

Indian Cricket team has started to sweat it out in the nets in preparation for the first Test versus Bangladesh. Newly appointed bowling coach Morne Morkel is on his first assignment as a part of the Gautam Gambhir-coached side. The former South African was the name suggested by Gambhir as soon as he became the coach. 

Morne Morkel spoke to BCCI’s official channel after his 1st stint as the new bowling coach. “For me, it's just important to connect well with the guys. I've played with and against some of these players, watched them in the IPL,” he said.

The Indian team went into the Test with four pace bowlers in the side. Jasprit Bumrah marks his return to the game for the first time since the T20 World Cup. Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep are the other two right-arm pacers in the side. Yash Dayal has got his first Test call up making him the only left-arm seamer in the team. 

Morne Morkel lavishes praise on Indian bowlers 

Former South African star pacer Morne Morkel seems to have been blown away from what he saw in the nets. After the end of the first training session, Morkel had nothing but praise for all the bowlers. 

“To be in a camp and form relationships with them is very important. Today was just about that - to get an understanding about the guys, find out their strengths and weaknesses, and setting goals for the upcoming series,” said Morne Morkel to the BCCI’s official channel. 

The former South African pace legend also said, “I was blown away by how they went about their things and how professional they were. So, that's a good sign and hopefully we can build on that.”

During the course of his chat, Morkel revealed his first reaction after getting the job. “When I ended the call, I sat for about five minutes in the room reflecting on it and then I first phoned my dad.  didn't even go to my wife. You know, normally they say go to your wife first, but I spoke to my dad and I mean, being a cricket fan for years and knowing what was going to come up, this is quite a special moment for me,” he added. 

Morne Morkel has played lots of cricket in India both for South Africa as well as the IPL. He was also the bowling coach for the Lucknow Super Giants which unearthed Mayank Yadav during the IPL 2024 season. This was one of the reasons why Gambhir wanted to work with Morkel and put in a strong word.

“I enjoyed it for about 5 to 7 minutes to myself and then obviously shared with the family that this is an opportunity and potentially that might happen. I'm just so delighted that we eventually got things over the line, and I'm here,” recollected Morne Morkel after his hard day at training with the Indian team.