Morné Morkel has decided he is done with Pakistan cricket for now.
The former Protea was appointed as Pakistan’s fast bowler coach earlier this year, but he has now decided to bid farewell to the team – six weeks before his contract officially expires.
The country’s cricket bosses confirmed the news in a short statement.
Although Shaheen Shah Afridi (18 wickets), Haris Rauf (16 wickets) and Mohammad Wasim (10 wickets) flew the Pakistani fast bowler’s flag at the World Cup in India, the team could not qualify for the play-offs of the tournament.
They ended their campaign in fifth place after losing to South Africa, India and Afghanistan, among others.
Morkel is preparing a good coaching testimonial. He was part of Namibia’s set-up during the previous T20 World Cup tournament in Australia, while he also assisted Durban’s Super Giants and the Lucknow Super Giants’ bowlers in the respective target-and-mocker tournaments in South Africa and India.
It is precisely his SA20 and Indian Premier League duties that apparently have an influence on his coaching future with Pakistan.
Morkel impressed in his international playing days with the bounce he could achieve from any pitch and he ended up taking 309 Test wickets.
In particular, he formed a formidable bowling partnership with Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander and together they took the South Africans’ red-ball cricket team to greater heights.
