Ending weeks of speculation, former South Africa pacer Morne Morkel has been officially appointed as the bowling coach of the Indian men’s team, confirmed BCCI secretary Jay Shah.

Morkel’s contract is set to begin on September 1, which means his first assignment with the national team will be the home Test against Bangladesh that starts from September 19. He has been appointed till the end of the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa.

Morkel replaced former India pacer Paras Mhambrey, and his appointment completes India’s coaching staff, which comprises head coach Gautam Gambhir, assistant coaches Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate, and fielding coach T Dilip.

The appointment also marks the reunion of Morkel with Gambhir. The duo were teammates in the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise for three seasons in the IPL before being together as part of the coaching setup of the Lucknow Super Giants. He, in fact, continued as LSG’s bowling coach even after Gambhir moved to KKR ahead of this season.

Morkel brings a wealth of experience. During his glittering career, he represented the Proteas in 86 Tests, 117 ODIs and 44 T20Is, claiming 309, 188, and 47 wickets, respectively. With Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander, Morkel formed one of the most lethal attacks in world cricket that went on to terrorise batters across the globe in all formats.

After hanging his boots from international cricket at 33, the lanky fast bowler played county cricket before trying his hand at coaching. His first big international assignment was as Pakistan’s bowling coach. Although he did a splendid job with Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah in the lead-up to the 2023 ODI World Cup, Pakistan failed to reach the semi-final and ended up in sixth spot in the points table amid a forgetful outing. After Pakistan’s dismal show in the 50-over world tournament in India, Morkel decided not to continue.

The new-look coaching set-up under Gambhir had already begun its stint during India’s recent tour of Sri Lanka. Nayar, Dilip, and ten Doeschate were in Sri Lanka as part of India’s support staff, but Morkel, who was in Australia with his family, could not be roped in as the final discussions were ongoing. Hence, NCA bowling coach Sairaj Bahutulle was the interim bowling coach for the tour.

India’s international calendar is already packed with back to back home series against Bangladesh, followed by three Tests against New Zealand. Morkel’s big test, however, will be during India’s tour of Australia in December-January for a gruelling five-Test rubber for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.