‘I feel ready’ - Morne Morkel opens up after taking charge as bowling coach

Morne Morkel could not join the Indian team in Sri Lanka due to personal reasons, but the former South Africa speedster officially took charge as the bowling coach of senior Indian men's side on September 13 (Friday) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, ahead of the two-Test series against Bangladesh.

Morkel was not a part of Kolkata Knight Riders’ coaching staff in the 2024 Indian Premier League, but he is someone who has a great relationship with Gautam Gambhir. They worked together at Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). 

During his playing days, Morkel played in the IPL under the captaincy of Gambhir, for KKR. 

The 39-year-old, in a video posted on bcci.tv, shared his first thoughts after taking charge as bowling coach, and asserted that the first goal he set for himself was to build a strong connection with the players.

“For me it was just important to connect well with the guys. I’ve played a lot against some of the players. I’ve seen and connected with some of the guys during the IPL. To be now in the camp and to form a friendship and a relationship [with the team] is for me very important,” Morkel said.

“Today the goal was sort of to get an understanding of the guys, their strengths and weaknesses, and to set goals for the upcoming series. That’s the sort of conversations we had today. The guys did really well, I was blown away by how well they went about things, how professional they were. So that’s a good sign, hopefully we can build on that,” he said, after taking charge.

The former Proteas bowler insisted that one of his challenges will be to ensure that the players feel ‘comfortable’ in the set-up. He admitted that, for some players, the environment could prove to be intimidating and asserted that his role as a coach will be to make sure that the players feel like they belong, as a relaxed mind usually ends up producing the best results. 

“It’s one thing having the talent and the skill, but it’s about making guys welcome in an intimidating environment. Playing for India, wearing the blue shirt is a lot of expectation. So for me having the experience, and having gone through these things already, it’s about passing on the knowledge and helping the players settle,” Morkel said.

“As soon as players have the feeling of comfort that they belong, the performances will come. It’s about looking after that. From there, you wanna ensure they upskill and get to higher levels.”

Morkel described the Indian side as a set-up that ‘operates by itself’, largely thanks to the presence of a boatload of senior players. He asserted that his challenge will be to first ensure that the set-up keeps ticking the way it has been for a few years, and then eventually enhance it. 

The 39-year-old insisted that he is ready for the challenge.

“I feel ready to take up this challenge. I understand and I know that there will always be expectations of winning [trophies]. Luckily I have experienced it in my playing days and I can share the knowledge I have,” Morkel said.

“Here in India, we are lucky to have quality senior players. As coaches, it’ll be our responsibility to support the senior players and give them the best sort of advice we can give. This is a set-up that sort of operates by itself, so to protect that and make it better is going to be the goal.”

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