Gautam Gambhir wants Morne Morkel to be India's bowling coach, BCCI yet to decide - Reports

Gautam Gambhir and Morne Morkel worked together for LSG in the IPL for two years.

Gautam Gambhir was recently named head coach of the senior men’s Indian Cricket Team and since then there have been a lot of speculations regarding his other support staff. Reports have emerged since his appointment and now some reports have suggested that former South African pacer Morne Morkel is in reckoning for bowling coach role.

Gambhir took over the responsibility from Rahul Dravid, who ended his tenure on a memorable note by winning the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in June.

Gambhir’s first assignment with the Men in Blue team will start with the away white-ball series against Sri Lanka. The Indian side will play three T20Is and as many ODIs from July 26 to August 7.

Gambhir requests BCCI to rope in Morne Morkel as the bowling coach

Since becoming the head coach of the Indian cricket team, Gambhir is having tough time in choosing his supporting staff.

Earlier, many reports claimed that Gambhir had asked the BCCI to rope in Abhishek Nayar as the assistant coach and Vinay Kumar as the bowling coach, but the board rejected the proposal to hire Vinay Kumar. Subsequently, former Indian pacers Zaheer Khan and Lakshmipathy Balaji have also been linked to the bowling coach’s role.

However, a new report in Cricbuzz stated that Gambhir has requested the BCCI to rope in former South Africa bowler Morkel as the new India bowling coach. The report also revealed that the BCCI is considering Zaheer Khan as the new bowling coach for the Indian side.

It is to be noted that both Gambhir and Morkel have good a relation and have also worked with each other in the past. In the Indian Premier League, the duo worked at Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) franchise for two years. Gambhir served as a mentor, whereas Morne was bowling coach of the LSG team.

Morkel also served as the Pakistan’s bowling coach during the ICC Cricket ODI World Cup 2023, but resigned from the job before his contract was due to expire.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket for IPL 2024 Live Score & IPL Points Table,  on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.