Gautam Gambhir has become the new head coach of the Indian cricket team. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially announced his name, but there is still suspense over who will get the posts of batting coach or assistant coach, bowling coach and fielding coach in Gambhir’s support staff. It is believed that Abhishek Nayar is almost certain to become the assistant coach, while Gambhir himself will also play the role of batting coach.
The most suspense remains about the bowling coach. Earlier reports claimed that Gautam Gambhir had suggested the names of Lakshmipati Balaji and Vinay Kumar, but BCCI refused saying that they need a stronger name for this role. After this, there was also discussion about the name of Zaheer Khan and now another name has also been added to this equation. Former South African fast bowler Morne Morkel is also now included in this race.
Morkel was the bowling coach of the Pakistan during the 2023 World Cup held in India, but he left his post a month before the completion of his contract. According to the reports, Gambhir has advocated Morkel’s name in front of the BCCI. Morkel has played 86 Tests, 117 ODIs and 44 T20 Internationals for South Africa. According to reports, some decisions have also been taken regarding Morne Morkel. This former South African fast bowler has now settled in Australia.
Morkel has a lot of coaching experience
Gambhir and Morkel, who have been mentors of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise team Lucknow Super Giants, have worked together before. Both Gambhir and Morkel were part of the coaching staff of the Lucknow Super Giants team. Gambhir was the mentor, while Morkel was the bowling coach of the team and there has been a very good professional relationship between the two. When Gambhir left Lucknow Super Giants and joined Kolkata Knight Riders, Morkel remained associated with the Lucknow Super Giants franchise.
BCCI will take the final decision
Morkel has had a lot of good coaching experience at the international level and franchise cricket level. In 2018, at the age of 39, Morne Morkel retired from international cricket. The final decision regarding the post of bowling coach will be taken by the BCCI, which has not been taken yet. For the fielding coach, there have been reports from the beginning that T Dilip will play this role in future as well, who has been the fielding coach of Team India for some time now.