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Former South African fast bowler Morne Morkel has become the new bowling coach of the Indian Cricket Team. The appointment was confirmed on Wednesday and the 39-year-old will begin his duties from the 1st of September.
Details revealed by one BCCI source to PTI revealed that Gautam Gambhir was directly involved in the appointment of Morkel. The South African will replace Paras Mhambrey who served as the bowling coach during Rahul Dravid’s tenure.
The BCCI source said to PTI “The Cricket Advisory Committee's (CAC) mandate was to interview the candidates for the head coach. When it came to the choice of support staff, it was imperative that Gambhir's choice prevailed. He has worked with Morne and thinks of him highly as a bowling coach,"
Former Indian stars weren’t even considered
It is to be noted that Gautam Gambhir and Morne Morkel have worked with each other during their stint at Lucknow Super Giants. It is under the tutelage of Morkel that India got their latest sensation in Mayank Yadav during IPL 2024. The BCCI source also said that the board had overlooked Vinay Kumar and L. Balaji for the role.
The unnamed BCCI source also added “Also with the big series against Australia coming up Down Under from last week of November, there isn't a better choice than the South African, who has himself enjoyed a fair bit of success over there. Also, there will be the five-Test tour of England next year with a potential sixth match if India reach the WTC final."
Sairaj Bahutule was the bowling coach for India during their recent tour of Sri Lanka. Post the appointment of Gautam Gambhir, the likes of Abhishek Nayar and Ryan Ten Doeschate have joined the backroom staff. meanwhile, T. Dilip has been retained as the fielding coach thanks to his success with the players.
Gautam Gambhir is a huge admirer of the talents that Morne Morkel gets to the table. During an old interaction with Gaurav Kapur for the show ‘Breakfast with Champions’ the Indian coach had said "That's why I got him, honestly that's why we got him in the KKR as well. I thought he was the toughest bowler I have faced. Isko apni side lelo. Jab wo Delhi ke liye khel raha tha every time I would face him, I would come back and say yar I wish we have Morne Morkel”