Lance Klusener: Morne Morkel as Bowling Coach Will Be a Smart Move for Team India

Veteran Proteas all-rounder Klusener feels Morkel can connect to the youth as he recently finished playing.

Former South Africa speedster Morne Morkel will likely join the Indian men's cricket team as bowling coach, after the limited-overs series in Sri Lanka which started on Saturday.

Gautam Gambhir appointed new head coach after Rahul Dravid's departure, recommended Morkel to the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

They worked together in the Indian Premier League at Lucknow Super Giants, where Morkel honed the skills of exciting fast bowlers such as Avesh Khan and Mayank Yadav. Gambhir, India's World Cup winner in 2007 and 2011, worked as a mentor for two years at the franchise.

Morkel was also the fast-bowling coach in Pakistan for a brief period in 2023 with superstar pacers Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, and Haris Rauf under his wings.

Why is Morkel the best choice as India's bowling coach?

"He has experience in the job and has worked in Pakistan. He has had success. It is fantastic that he has gained experience in the IPL too," former South Africa all-rounder Lance Klusener told SportsBoom.com.

Klusener, a white-ball giant in his prime, feels Morkel can connect to the youth as he is only 39. "He has finished playing recently, which is a good thing. He will fit well as India's bowling coach in Gautam's setup. It will be a smart move," he added.

Morkel has 544 international wickets and was a key player for the Proteas in the 2011 and 2015 ODI World Cups.
 

“He would settle back as he gets more mature and can come around 140-145. The boy has come a long way with Morne as his bowling coach in the IPL at Lucknow. He is an exciting talent but got injured unfortunately after a few games.”

"Among the new batters, Yashasvi Jaiswal [who plays IPL for Rajasthan Royals] is excellent. India never stops producing good players and that's the beauty of it. South Africa celebrates one or two, but I think there are fingers and toes to count when India produces a player. It is nice to see them and hope they step up when they get an opportunity," said Klusener, as he has seen these players closely as assistant coach of Lucknow in the last edition of the IPL.

The BCCI has hired former India international Sairaj Bahutule as the interim bowling coach for the tour of Sri Lanka. There were reports that Morkel, who now resides in Sydney, Australia with his family, has travelled to Pretoria in South Africa to attend to his ill father. If the deal is finalised, he may join ahead of the Test series against Bangladesh in September.