Even before the Champions Trophy has started, Team India has been dealt with a severe blow, as the bowling coach, Morne Morkel is most likely to leave Dubai and head back home due to a personal tragedy. As per a report in the Times of India, team’s bowling coach missed the practice session on Feb 17, after arriving in the UAE on 15th.
Morne Morkel Heads Back Home
Having said that, Morne Morkel was present with the team in the afternoon practice session at the ICC Academy on Feb 16. While it is still not clear what has exactly happened with the South African, but there are rumours that his father passed away. Apart from that, there is no clarity if Morkel would be part of the Champions Trophy 2025, and when would be return for the tournament, if at all.
Major Trouble for India Ahead of Champions Trophy 2025?
Meanwhile, the report further suggested that Rohit Sharma & Co. would likely take on off from training on Tuesday, and would train on Feb 19, on the eve of their first match against Bangladesh on 20th. Morkel’s absence now could severely impact the team’s chances in the tournament, given that Jasprit Bumrah isn’t part of the squad, and even Mohammed Shami is a bit rusty.
Going further, Rishabh Pant seemed in full flow, and trained without any strapping on his left knee. The southpaw had got hit on Sunday during the Team India session and was attended by the team physio with ice packs, eventually limping out of the session.
Team India Squad
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.
