'I didn't even go to my wife': Morne Morkel Reveals How He Felt After Getting India Coach's Job

Morne Morkel, the newly appointed bowling coach of the Indian cricket team, has shared his emotions after receiving the life-changing news of his appointment. In a candid conversation with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Morkel opened up about the special moment, revealing how he immediately reached out to his father before anyone else, even his wife.

Also Read: Jonty Rhodes' CHEEKY Response at Missing IND's Fielding Coach Role Despite Gautam Gambhir 's Backing

Morne Morkel reveals chat with his father after being appointed India's bowling coach

"When I ended the call, I sat for about five minutes in the room reflecting on it, and then I first phoned my dad," Morkel said in a video posted by the BCCI. "He spoke to me, I didn't even go to my wife. You know, normally they say go to your wife first, but I spoke to my dad. Being a cricket fan for years and knowing what was going to come up, this is quite a special moment for me."

The former South African fast bowler emphasized how meaningful this opportunity is, not just for his career but for his family as well. Morkel, who has had an illustrious international career with South Africa and a successful stint in franchise cricket, spoke about taking a moment to absorb the news before sharing it with his loved ones. 

"So yeah, I enjoyed it for about 5 to 7 minutes to myself and then obviously shared with the family that this is an opportunity and potentially that might happen. I'm just so delighted that we eventually got things over the line, and I'm here," he added.

Morkel, who has worked with current head coach Gautam Gambhir in Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), has been in India enough times and seen it from close quarter to understand how it works and where he would fit into the ecosystem.

"Coming here, this is a set-up that operates by itself and so to protect that and make it better in small ways is going to be the goal," Morkel told BCCI.TV, making it clear that his focus is on minor tweaks rather than overhauling what works.

He also feels that super seniors like Rohit Sharma , Virat Kohli , Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah will always lead the charge and his job will be to be the sounding board as part of the support staff.

Also Read: Shreyas Iyer's Fashion Statement Fails to Impress as he Falls for a Duck in Duleep Trophy Match

"We are quite lucky to have quality senior players and they will lead the charge. Our responsibility is to support them and give them best sort of advice that we can give," said Morkel, who turns 40 soon and has played alongside legendary Dale Steyn.

Morkel, who has 544 international wickets across three formats with 309 of them coming in Tests, was "blown away" by how Indian cricketers went about things and "how professional they were".

"That's a good sign and hope we can build on that," Morkel said.

(With PTI inputs)