Here's why BCCI selected Morne Morkel over Indian stars like Lakshmipathy Balaji and R Vinay Kumar

BCCI secretary Jay Shah has announced that the former South African fast bowler Morne Morkel will be the new bowling coach for the Indian men’s cricket team. This appointment is a major development in the reorganization of the support staff of the team, with Gambhir taking over as head coach.

Morkel will replace Paras Mhambrey and is likely to start the series against Bangladesh, which begins with the first Test in Chennai on September 19. His contract runs up to the end of the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa. Morkel has been around in cricket for quite some time and is also known to Gambhir from their time together at the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL.

Morkel was selected with the help of Gambhir, who had previously worked together; Gambhir preferred Morkel to other options such as Lakshmipathy Balaji and R Vinay Kumar. Support staff under Gambhir will be assistant coach Abhishek Nayar and fielding coach Ryan Ten Doeschate.

The Cricket Advisory Committee’s mandate was all about interviewing candidates for the head coach role, but it was crucial that Gambhir’s preferred choices for support staff be respected. An official from the BCCI said, “He has worked with Morne and rates him highly as a bowling coach.” Morkel’s experience has been good, having played 86 Tests, 117 ODIs, and 44 T20Is, which has given him a good insight of fast bowling. He has overall taken 544 wickets in international matches, and he is familiar with the Indian condition as he has played in the Indian Premier League several times.

His understanding of the Indian conditions will be useful for the team when they play against Australia later this year and in a five-match Test series in England in 2025. Before he begins his new job, Morkel will join the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru next month.

He is expected to watch the Duleep Trophy matches and interact with VVS Laxman and Troy Cooley, the head of bowling at the NCA. Morkel will have to work on the issue of the transformation of leading bowlers like Shami, who is perhaps nearing his exit, and the need to support Bumrah and Siraj, especially in the longer format. Morkel served with the Pakistan national team up to the end of the ODI World Cup in 2023, before he left prematurely before the expiry of his contract. His signing is viewed as a measure to add depth to India’s bowling ahead of a busy international program.