The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has formally appointed former South African fast bowler Morne Morkel as the Indian men’s cricket team’s new bowling coach. Jay Shah, BCCI secretary, made the news on Wednesday, putting an end to weeks of speculation over the job.
Morne Morkel’s coaching experience
Morkel offers plenty of expertise to his new post. During his 12-year international career, he played 86 Tests, 117 ODIs, and 44 T20Is, taking 544 wickets. Since retiring from international cricket, Morkel has worked as a bowling consultant for a variety of teams worldwide. His coaching experience includes stints with Pakistan, New Zealand at the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup, and, most recently, Namibia at the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup.
Morkel also coached the Babar Azam-led Pakistan squad in the 2023 ODI World Cup. He left the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) months before his contract expired. Under Morkel’s leadership, Pakistan failed to reach the semi-finals of the ODI World after a lackluster campaign.
Morkel’s Work Ahead
One of Morkel’s key concerns will be to ensure the strength of India’s fast bowling bench as the team prepares for a run of five home Tests from September through November. This will be followed by a much-anticipated tour of Australia, where India will play a five-match Test series for the first time since 1992. Morkel’s experience and knowledge will be invaluable in preparing the bowlers for these challenging matches.
Morkel will try to create enough options to the Indian team apart from the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. There are a lot of up and coming talents in India right now and Morkel job will to groom them for the future ahead.
Morne Morkel Bowling Career
| Format | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 86 | 160 | 16498 | 8550 | 309 | 6/23 | 9/110 | 27.66 | 3.10 | 53.3 | 18 | 8 | 0 |
| ODIs | 117 | 114 | 5760 | 4761 | 188 | 5/21 | 5/21 | 25.32 | 4.95 | 30.6 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| T20Is | 44 | 44 | 952 | 1191 | 47 | 4/17 | 4/17 | 25.34 | 7.50 | 20.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| FC | 153 | – | 27885 | 14416 | 566 | 6/23 | – | 25.46 | 3.10 | 49.2 | 30 | 20 | 2 |
| List A | 156 | 150 | 7490 | 6145 | 239 | 5/21 | 5/21 | 25.71 | 4.92 | 31.3 | 9 | 3 | 0 |
| T20s | 190 | 187 | 4160 | 5237 | 207 | 4/17 | 4/17 | 25.29 | 7.55 | 20.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
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