Gautam Gambhir, the 2011 ODI World Cup winner, was officially appointed as the new head coach of Team India three days ago. However, the composition of his support staff remains uncertain.
The appointment of team India's bowling coach remains a key decision yet to be finalized in Gautam Gambhir's coaching staff. Names such as Zaheer Khan, Lakshmipathy Balaji, and Vinay Kumar have been mentioned in the media, but no final decisions have been announced so far.
Also on ABP Live | Caught On Cam: Video Of Shaheen Afridi Pushing Babar Azam Goes Viral
According to a report in Cricbuzz, Gautam Gambhir is interested in appointing former South African cricketer Morne Morkel as the bowling coach in his coaching team, awaiting a decision from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Morne Morkel and Gautam Gambhir have previously collaborated in the coaching setup of IPL. Morkel currently serves as the bowling coach for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). During Gambhir's tenure as a mentor at LSG, before joining KKR for IPL 2024, Morkel held the role of bowling coach in Lucknow.
The duo also shared the dressing room during their playing days for KKR in IPL.
During the previous edition of ODI World Cup, Morne Morkel was appointed as Pakistan cricket team's bowling coach, but he resigned from this post after the tournament.
According to Cricbuzz, Gautam Gambhir has recommended to the BCCI to appoint Morkel as India's new bowling coach, replacing Paras Mhambrey.
Morkel has a distinguished international career while playing for South Africa over 12 years from 2006 to 2018, having played 86 Tests, 117 ODIs, and 44 T20 Internationals, taking a combined 544 wickets across formats.
National Cricket Academy (NCA) head VVS Laxman travelled with India's young guns for Zimbabwe tour, a five-match T20I series. Shubman Gill-led India have a 2-1 lead in the series. The remaining 4th and 5th T20Is of the T20I series will be played on Saturday (July 13) and Sunday (July 14) in Harare.
India's tour to Sri Lanka later this month will be Gambhir's first assignment with the national team.