Former South African pacer Morne Morkel became India’s bowling coach last month.
Source: News 18
Former South African pacer Morne Morkel was appointed as India’s bowling coach last month, and his impact was immediate. In his debut match as part of India’s support staff, the bowlers delivered an outstanding performance against Bangladesh in Chennai. While Ravichandran Ashwin went wicketless in the first innings, he bounced back with six wickets in the second. Jasprit Bumrah also made his mark with figures of 4 and 1, and Ravindra Jadeja contributed with 2 and 3 wickets across both innings.
Before his stint with India, Morkel served as Pakistan’s bowling coach in 2023, but that tenure did not go as planned. His time with the Men in Green was largely forgettable, and now, former Pakistani cricketer-turned-expert Basit Ali has criticized Pakistan’s bowlers for disrespecting the legendary fast bowler. Ali suggested that Pakistan’s bowlers had an inflated view of themselves, believing they were superior to Morkel.
“The Pakistani bowlers think they are bigger than cricket itself. They believed Morkel was insignificant compared to them,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.
Basit’s criticism came after India’s dominant 280-run victory over Bangladesh in the first Test at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. He highlighted the stark contrast in mindset between Indian and Pakistani players. According to him, Bangladesh appeared much stronger against Pakistan compared to their performance against India.
“We’ve seen the difference. This is the same Bangladesh team that played against Pakistan, where it seemed like Pakistan were completely on the back foot. Bangladesh even whitewashed Pakistan. The difference is in mindset, approach, and class,” Basit added.
Bangladesh recently made history by defeating Pakistan in a two-match Test series, marking their first-ever victory over Pakistan in the red-ball format. The loss was particularly embarrassing for Pakistan as both matches were played on home soil, where they failed to capitalize on familiar conditions.
As the ongoing Test series continues, with the second match set to be held at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur starting Friday, September 27, Bangladesh will also gear up for a three-match T20I series against India, beginning October 6 in Gwalior.
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