Morne Morkel, the former South African fast bowler, has been appointed as the bowling coach of the Indian men's cricket team. The announcement, which followed weeks of speculation, was confirmed by BCCI secretary Jay Shah on Wednesday.
Morkel takes over from Paras Mhambrey, the former India fast bowler, completing India's coaching staff. The team now includes head coach Gautam Gambhir, assistant coaches Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate, and fielding coach T Dilip.
Morkel emerged as the frontrunner for the position, beating out competition from former India seamer R Vinay Kumar. His selection was largely influenced by Gambhir, who had previously worked with Morkel during his tenure at Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL and Durban Super Giants in the SA20.
One of Morkel's key challenges will be to maintain India's fast bowling bench strength during a demanding period that includes five home Tests between September and November, followed by a five-Test series in Australia—the first since 1992.
It remains uncertain if Sairaj Bahutule, the former India leg-spinner who served as a bowling coach during the Sri Lanka tour, will continue with the team. The management is reportedly interested in developing a pool of spinners beyond the current trio of R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav. Bahutule might be retained as a spin consultant, though perhaps not on a permanent basis.
Morkel had a distinguished international career, playing 86 Tests, 117 ODIs, and 44 T20Is, during which he took 544 wickets. Since retiring, he has gained extensive experience as a bowling consultant for various teams. In addition to his roles with Pakistan and Lucknow Super Giants, Morkel has also worked with New Zealand at the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup and Namibia at the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup.
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