Morne Morkel will not be travelling with the Indian team to Sri Lanka. The Board for Cricket in India has made a temporary appointment by naming Sairaj Bahutule, from the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, to act as the temporary bowling coach for the six White-ball Series in the island country.
Having decided to include Morkel in the Indian Men’s National team as the bowling coach, the process is ongoing however, it is known that the retired South African fast bowler won’t be able to join the team in Sri Lanka because of his own challenges.
Morkel resides in Sydney but has travelled to Pretoria to attend to his unwell father–Cricbuzz has learned. The news website has also reported that there is a chance that he might be part of the squad for the home series against Bangladesh (comprising two Tests and three T20Is), which will take place in September or October.
A source privy to the matter said, “Morkel’s deal is not yet sealed; discussions are still underway—he may come afterwards.”
Sairaj Bahutule is presently employed as a coach at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru
According to Cricbuzz, Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate will be assistant coaches to the Gautam Gambhir-led coaching staff who will have Bahutule (51) with them. For the fielding coach, it’s option T Dilip who served under Rahul Dravid’s previous dispensation. They will all leave for the island with the rest of the team’s players on Monday in the afternoon.
During his international career which lasted for six years from 1997 to 2003, Bahutule managed to play only two Tests and eight One Day Internationals. On the other hand, it might be remembered that the West Indies always play two fast bowlers at least plus a spinner on tour.
Instead, the BCCI could have gone for Troy Cooley, who is currently the High-Performance Manager at the National Cricket Academy. A lot of consideration appears to have been made when including Bahutule in the new coaching panel – each of the T20I as well as ODI squads has three spinners.
Ten Doeschate, a member of Major League Cricket (MLC) side LA Knight Riders, USA, will join the team in India. He should reach Mumbai before Monday afternoon to travel with the other including Gambhir who is set to be announced as the new national coach by BCCI.
Gambhir will talk to the press on Monday morning. There are three T20Is and three ODIs to be played by the Indian team between July 27 and August 7.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.
