‘Pakistan bowlers thought Morne Morkel was nothing’: Shaheen Afridi and co. slammed for belittling former coach
Morne Morkel joined them as a bowling coach last year in June but cut ties with them after their group-stage exit from the ODI World Cup 2024.
Former South Africa paceman Morne Morkel has joined the Indian cricket team coaching staff and started his tenure with an impressive performance from Jasprit Bumrah and other bowlers in the first Test against Bangladesh. The Proteas had a bright smile on his face when the Indian bowlers were running riot in Chennai to dismantle the Bangladesh batting line-up. Bumrah was the pick of the bowler in the first innings, with a four-fer and a six-fer by Ravichandran Ashwin in the second innings.
Morkel also had a brief stint with the Pakistan team. He joined them as a bowling coach last year in June but cut ties with them after their group-stage exit from the ODI World Cup 2024. Under his guidance, the Pakistan bowlers failed to produce the desired results in the mega ICC event in India, and he parted ways with the team with six weeks left in his contract.
Former cricketer Basit Ali lashed out at the Pakistan bowling unit and blamed them for belittling Morkel when he was coach of the side.
"The Pakistani bowlers consider themselves to be bigger than cricket. They thought that Morkel was nothing in front of us," Basit said on his YouTube channel.
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Massive difference between India and Pakistan's mindsets
He further asserted that there is a massive difference between the mindsets of Indian and Pakistani players, which can be seen in their recent performances against Bangladesh, which have the same opposition.
"We got to know the difference. This is the same Bangladesh played against Pakistan, where it seemed as if Pakistan were completely on the back foot. This is the same Bangladesh that whitewashed Pakistan. The difference is of mindset, thinking and class," he added.
India sealed the opening Test against Bangladesh in Chennai with more than a day's play to spare. The effortless 280-run triumph was a blend of an all-round performance from each player featuring in a star-studded line-up.
In the first innings, the pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah (4/50), Mohammed Siraj (2/30), and Akash Deep (2/19) outmanoeuvred Bangladesh batters, forcing them to fold up on 149. Ravichandran Ashwin (6/88) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/58) spun their web in the second innings to wrap up Bangladesh's batting line-up.
