Gambhir’s coaching debut in turmoil? BCCI nixes Morne Morkel as bowling coach pick 10 days before Ind vs SL T20I series

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has declined Gautam Gambhir's nomination of Morne Morkel as the bowling coach for the Indian Men's cricket team, highlighting apparent discord between the new head coach and the cricket board.

Morne Morkel, the former South African speedster, also served as Pakistan's bowling coach during last year's ODI World Cup. Morkel is currently associated with the IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants.

However, with the latest BCCI strike down, Gambhir seems to be facing a rather tenuous job deciding on a support staff for the head coach of the Indian Men's Cricket team.

Morkel was Gambhir's third pick as the bowling coach, which the BCCI rejected. The previous two were reportedly R Vinay Kumar and Laximipathy Balaji.

Two of Gambhir's picks as the fielding coach—Ryan ten Doeschate and Jonty Rhodes—were also turned down.

Gautam Gambhir is pushing for former India all-rounder Abhishek Nayar to join his coaching staff, possibly as an assistant or batting coach for the Indian Men's cricket team.

While no final decision has been made, multiple media sources indicate that Nayar, known for revitalizing the careers of Dinesh Karthik and Shreyas Iyer, is a leading contender for the position.

Gautam Gambhir vs BCCI: A first

Etymologically, BCCI has given the Head coach a free hand to choose their support staff.

The support staff for the Indian men's cricket team changed minimally during the tenures of Anil Kumble, Ravi Shastri, and Rahul Dravid. Ravi Shastri notably diverged from the recommendations of the Cricket Advisory Committee, led by Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman, opting instead for his own choices.

With prior experience with them at the NCA, Rahul Dravid selected Paras Mhambrey as the bowling coach and T Dilip as the fielding coach.

With just ten days remaining until Gautam Gambhir starts his coaching stint with Team India for the T20I series in Sri Lanka, the current NCA coaching staff is expected to serve as interim support under the former India opener. Discussions between Gambhir and the board are ongoing to finalize the coaching setup before the series begins.