India bowling coach Morne Morkel said he was a little bit nervous going into the tour of England due to the lack of red-ball cricket the side has had in the past few months. India last played a Test match in January during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the players have since been occupied with white-ball assignments, including the Champions Trophy and the IPL.
The England tour will be the start of the new World Test Championship cycle for India, having missed out on the 2023-25 final. Speaking to the BCCI’s official website, Morkel said he is happy with the start so far to the training camp in England. The bowling coach is happy with the progress of the players and feels that confidence and team spirit is needed heading into the Test series.
“All in all, happy with the start so far. I was a little bit nervous in terms of the lack of red ball we’ve played but seeing how the guys are moving around and training in the last three days is a pleasing sight. We have a fantastic group. There’s some quality energy and that’s what you need. You need to go into a Test series confident and have that team spirit,” said Morkel.
Morkel feels that consistency will be crucial in England and is happy with the variety in the bowling lineup this time around for the tour.
“I think consistency is crucial in England and there is consistency when we practice, there’s consistency off the field, finding your process, what’s going to work for you as an individual,” said Morkel.
“We’ve got a great variation, variety in our attack, guys with different skill sets so they can do that and still execute the basics well.”
