Zaheer Khan breaks silence on Gautam Gambhir choosing Morne Morkel over him as India's bowling coach

Former India National Cricket Team pacer Zaheer Khan opened up about current head coach Gautam Gambhir choosing Morne Morkel over him as the bowling coach of the team. He was in awe of the former South Africa pacer and said that his presence would benefit the Indian team a lot.

India National Cricket Team recently entered a new chapter after the T20 World Cup 2024, the entire coaching staff was changed. Gautam Gambhir was appointed as the new head of the team and the former India skipper was given the free hand to choose his coaching staff.

Gambhir picked Abhishek Nayar as his assistant coach, along with Ryan Ten Doeschate in the same role. T Dilip was retained as the fielding coach while the bowling coach wasn't named at first. During the Sri Lanka tour, India went with Sairaj Bahutule, NCA coach, as the bowling coach, and it was revealed that time the new coach will be announced soon.

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There were reports that Zaheer Khan was among the potential candidates to be the bowling coach of the team. However, the deal didn't mature as the Board of Control for Cricket in India preferred Morne Morkel on the recommendation of newly appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir.

While talking about not being preferred over Morne Morkel, Zaheer Khan said that he had spent a lot of time with the former South African player. Calling him a good co-worker, he said that Indian bowlers will benefit a lot. Speaking to Cricbuzz, he explained:

"Morne is someone with whom I have spent time within one of the franchises. He's a great lad and very good to work with. With good players in the (Indian) group, I'm sure the bowlers will benefit from his presence."

Zaheer was an incredible servant for the India National Cricket Team during his playing days. He played 92 Tests, 200 ODIs, and 17 T20Is for India. The pacer also played a huge role for the team in winning the 2011 World Cup, where he was the leading wicket-taker for the team in the tournament.

The retention should be there - Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan, on Wednesday (28th August), was appointed as the mentor of the Lucknow Super Giants. India legend was asked about the retention policy in the Indian Premier League. He said that retention is a must as it allows teams to have the right balance, and the rule should be there.

"Yes, because it is about continuity. It has to have that right balance," he said. "It is also a very young league compared to different leagues in the world, so it's about identifying what are going to be those milestones which they are looking at. Until that point, I am sure the retention should be there."

Zaheer Khan has been a veteran in IPL as well with 100 matches under his kitty. He played for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Royal Challengers Bengaluru) and Mumbai Indians.

Zaheer played his last IPL game in 2017. He also was part of Mumbai Indians coaching setup up in the league.