India‘s fast bowling coach, Morne Morkel, returned to bowling after a year-long hiatus ahead of the second Test against New Zealand at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on October 23. Morkel practiced bowling to KL Rahul, who faced criticism after his performance against William O’Rourke in the first Test.
In that match, the Kiwi pacer dismissed Rahul caught behind by wicketkeeper Tom Blundell in both innings, with scores of 0 and 12, raising doubts about his position in the XI for the upcoming game. You can watch the video here:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBc9W6-CR64/?igsh=MWwyeDkzYTN1cXdzaw==
KL Rahul has struggled with consistency since returning to Test cricket after his injury during the England tour of India. In the recent Test series against Bangladesh, he posted scores of 16, 22*, and 68.
“Revisit some of the past battles and memories”- Morne Morkel shares his excitement about bowling to KL Rahul
Morne Morkel expressed his joy at bowling to KL Rahul in the nets, which brought back memories of his earlier days. The 40-year-old mentioned that he would assist India in the nets during the upcoming Test series in Australia and England, sharing this with the BCCI:
“I need to remind myself that I am 40 and not 20 or 23 anymore. I haven’t bowled, the last time I bowled was a year ago. The boys sort of asked when I joined [team] if I am still fit enough to bowl, I said, ‘don’t worry, the day will come.’”
“The day when I arrived here [in Pune] there was live grass, I first started bowling to Siraj and couple of balls nipped. And then when KL walked in, I said let me get some bowling shoes and just relive some of the old battles and memories.”
Morkel further continued:
“I had to really walk back to my mark. A lot of conversations and self-talk to calm down. The last thing that you want is to get injured, pull hamstring. So, I allowed myself to bowl big no balls. Obviously, injury prevention was the main key for me.”
“I have bowled too many overs in India that reminded me that the surface is hard and slow and low. Don’t be silly. So, definitely, England and Australia where there’ll be a little more assistance, whenever if I can get an opportunity, I would like to bowl.”
Morne Morkel has taken 544 wickets for South Africa in all formats.
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