CHENNAI: Former South Africa pacer Morne Morkel has been appointed as the new bowling coach of the Indian men’s team. BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed the news on Wednesday.
Since Gautam Gambhir took over as head coach, the biggest talking points have been the appointment of his support staff. For the recently concluded Sri Lanka series, former Mumbai captain Abhishek Nayar and former Netherlands captain Ryan ten Doeschate — both of them worked with Gambhir during the title-winning campaign of Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2024 Indian Premier League — joined the team as assistant coaches. While T Dilip continued as fielding coach, a bowling coach was not named. Former Mumbai player Sairaj Bhatule travelled with the team as interim bowling coach for the tour, but it is not clear if he will continue in a different role with the team moving forward.
Meanwhile, Gambhir had already said that there will be more clarity on his support staff after the Sri Lanka tour. And one of the names that was doing rounds since Gambhir was confirmed as head coach was Morkel for bowling coach. Morkel, too, has worked with Gambhir in the past when he was a part of the Lucknow Super Giants support staff.
On Wednesday, Shah confirmed that the South African has been appointed as the bowling coach. He is expected to join the team in early September when the Indian team will be assembling in Chennai for a preparatory camp before the two-Test series against Bangladesh that begins on September 19.
Morkel, a fast bowling legend himself, has also worked with Pakistan men’s team and New Zealand women’s teams. His first big challenge will be the tour Down Under where India play five Tests.