After appointing Gautam Gambhir as head coach of the Indian team, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is now lining up its option to decide the remaining support staff. Over the past few days, several names have been linked to the bowling coach position, including Zaheer Khan, Lakshmipathy Balaji and R Vinay Kumar. While a final decision has yet to be made, Cricbuzz has now reported that Gambhir has asked the BCCI to also consider former South Africa Morne Morkel for the job.
The report also claimed that BCCI has already held talks with Morkel, who played who played 86 Tests, 117 ODIs, and 44 T20Is for the Proteas. Morkel was Pakistan’s bowling coach during the ODI World Cup last year in India, but resigned from his post before his contract expired.
Both Gambhir and Morkel were part of Andy Flower’s support staff at the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for two seasons. While Gambhir left LSG to join KKR as mentor, Morkel decided to stay at LSG under new head coach Justin Langer.
Gambhir was the captain of KKR when Morkel joined the franchise in 2014. The former India opener has always been a big fan of Morkel, who he often described as the “fiercest bowler he had ever faced”.
“While a final decision has yet to be made, it appears that the BCCI may reach a conclusion soon. One of the considerations is Morkel’s young family and the extensive travel required for the India job. He lives in the plush Seaforth suburb in northern Sydney with his wife Roz Kelly, a sports presenter on Channel 9. The couple have two children,” the report stated.
If BCCI and Morkel manage to find an agreement, the former South African pacer will replace Paras Mhambrey, who was part of Rahul Dravid’s support staff for the past three years.
If the reports are to be believed, Morkel could join former KKR teammate Ryan ten Doeschate and Nayar in Gambhir’s support staff.
The BCCI is keen on retaining fielding T Dilip from the outgoing Dravid regime.
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