ICC Champions Trophy 2025: India bowling coach Morne Morkel flies home due to family emergency

Morne Morkel was appointed as India bowling coach in September 2024.

Having whitewashed England 3-0 in the recently-concluded home ODI series, the Indian team enters the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 as firm favorites.

Their chances, however, took a hit with Jasprit Bumrah getting ruled out of the tournament due to a back injury. Bumrah’s absence meant India included the inexperienced Harshit Rana in the squad, who has played only three ODIs so far.

Notably, India will head to the tournament with five spinners and only three pacers in the squad, a move that has raised a few eyebrows.

Drawn in Group B, India will begin their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai before facing arch-rivals Pakistan and New Zealand on February 23 and March 2 respectively, at the same venue.

The Indian team has now suffered another massive blow just before they begin their Champions Trophy campaign on Thursday in Dubai.

India bowling coach Morne Morkel flies home due to family emergency

According to a report in India Today, India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel has rushed out of Dubai due to a family emergency. Morkel left for South Africa on Monday, February 17, after receiving the news of his father Alberts’ demise. However, the same is yet to be confirmed officially either by the board or the coach himself.

Morkel was appointed as India’s bowling coach in September 2024. During his tenure, India’s bowling has been excellent, with the team performing well with the ball against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.

With only Mohammed Shami as an experienced fast bowler in the lineup, Morkel’s presence would have helped India in guiding youngsters Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana in this important tournament.

India’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (Vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (Wk), Rishabh Pant (Wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.

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