The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has officially announced the appointment of former South African fast bowler Morne Morkel as the bowling coach for the national team. Morkel will be joining the coaching staff in preparation for the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka scheduled for next month.
Morkel, who recently entered into a six-month contract with the Pakistan team, was initially unable to join due to his coaching commitments in the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, he will now be able to fulfill his coaching duties with the national side in Pakistan.
Replacing former Pakistani fast bowler Umar Gul, who served as the interim bowling coach in the team’s previous series against New Zealand, Morkel will bring his extensive experience to the role. Throughout his international career spanning 11 years, Morkel achieved remarkable success, taking 309 wickets in 86 Test matches, 188 wickets in 117 ODIs, and 47 wickets in 44 T20Is.
Morkel’s most recent international appearance was in Lahore, where he represented the World XI against Pakistan in September 2017. His addition to the coaching staff is expected to strengthen Pakistan’s bowling unit.
The complete list of player support personnel for the Pakistan cricket team includes Rehan-ul-Haq as team manager, Grant Bradburn as head coach, Andrew Puttick as batting coach, Morne Morkel as bowling coach, Aftab Khan as fielding coach, Abdul Rehman as an assistant coach, Drikus Saaiman as strength and conditioning coach, Cliffe Deacon as a physiotherapist, Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi as media and digital content manager, Lt Col Usman Anwari (Retd) as a security manager, Talha Ejaz as an analyst, and Malang Ali as a masseur.