3 bowlers who will benefit immensely from Morne Morkel as India's bowling coach ft. Mohammed Siraj
There's a video at a corner of YouTube that explains exactly why Gautam Gambhir chose former South African pacer Morne Morkel as the bowling coach in a new dawn for Indian men's cricket.
It has the new head coach and his predecessor, Rahul Dravid, being squared up ball after ball, off full lengths and short, off balls moving in and away. And they get relentless stares from the South African, even when his caught-behind appeals are rejected, even when he's lying flat on the pitch after fluffing a catch off his bowling.
Indian fast-bowling has gone through an amazing revolution. SENA tours are no longer one-sided and spinners are no longer the only attacking weapons at home. Even a home ODI World Cup was almost won by two pacers' magical consistency.
But that video shows the next level to the Indians. Morkel, in that Centurion Test of December 2010, was not even South Africa's lead bowler and took out Gambhir, Dravid, MS Dhoni and most of India's tail to bowl them out for 136.
That relentlessness, aggression, and the ability to make the batter feel claustrophobic with no escape except getting out is the level Gambhir must think his pace battery can -- and should -- operate at to be the best in the world.
Although Morkel doesn't have a great CV after coaching the Pakistan men's team and the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), he brings some clear skillsets. And although the players will need time to get used to his coaching techniques, there are three pacers we think can certainly benefit from his arrival.
#3 Mayank Yadav
After what he did in IPL 2024, even in a handful of matches, Mayank Yadav became the favorite "next big thing" among the Indian cricketing audience. Although he has been out with injury since the tournament, pundits are still touting him for an outside chance for India's Test tour of Australia at the end of the year.
Well, when Mayank made his debut for LSG, he did so under Morkel's tutelage. Morkel was the one who eased him into the playing XI, came out in press conferences to sing praises for him and spoke about taking care of the youngster in the long term.
If India wants to get Mayank in the team bowling 150kph rockets, Morkel's apparent sensitivity in handling young talents would be welcome. More than giving the Delhi speedster games, Morkel's voice to Gambhir in what and how many games should Mayank play could help him develop gradually.
Add to it their similar bowling styles of high pace at tight lengths and using the bounce sans anything fancy -- they'd be the perfect apprentice-coach match.
#2 Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj is one of the most talented and skillful pacers India has ever had. There's no doubt about it -- even if you ignore his freakish spells where he has singlehandedly run through the batting lineups.
How he moves the new ball, and the number of magic -- borderline unplayable -- deliveries that he produces are rare in Indian cricket. But the setback that comes with it is inconsistency: Siraj often goes through extended spells where he struggles to take wickets, where his plans and ideas seem opposite to the team's.
This is where Morkel can help him. A master of channeling aggression into his bowling, the South African can add a bit of poise and pragmatism to Siraj's thinking, hopefully making him more consistent.
It would especially benefit Siraj and India in Tests -- India would be betting on him to lead attacks occasionally or, in the shorter term, consistently hold his end in Australia -- where going for magic deliveries and spells usually doesn't end well.
Morkel might be able to help Siraj to be one of the leaders of the bowling attacks despite being slightly in Bumrah's shade -- a bit of how he was like with Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander and how Stuart Broad was with James Anderson.
#1 Arshdeep Singh
Multiple reports in India are suggesting that the selectors are desperate to have a quality left-arm pacer in the Test set-up. There are several options but one who's being named almost everywhere is Arshdeep Singh.
Already the torch bearer for left-arm quicks in ODIs and T20Is, Arshdeep would be one of the front-runners to be India's "surprise element" and "something different" when they go to Australia later this year. Morkel, having worked with high-quality left-arm pacers in Pakistan and LSG, could perhaps help Arshdeep take the leap too.
Arshdeep has the tools -- swing, extra bounce, consistency -- to succeed at the Test level but Morkel might be able to help him get more accustomed to the tricks of a format that he hasn't played a lot of.
Remember, Morkel had 23 wickets in six Tests in Australia and was one of the best from South Africa to set foot down under. There's a whole box of knowledge in there, and Arshdeep being a quick learner, could benefit from absorbing as much as he can.