India's Bowling Coach Morkel Highlights Young Talents Ahead of Australia Series

Morne Morkel, India’s bowling coach, has singled out Nitish Kumar Reddy as a key player to watch during the upcoming series against Australia. With the Indian team gearing up for a challenging tour, Morkel is hopeful that the bowling attack, especially in the fast-paced conditions of Perth, will pose significant problems for the hosts.

India's bowling unit has been working hard in the nets at Optus Stadium, with stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah and his usual new-ball partner, Mohammed Siraj, leading the charge. However, Morkel’s focus is on the young and relatively inexperienced bowlers in the squad, including the uncapped duo of Reddy and Harshit Rana, along with Prasidh Krishna, who has just two Test caps to his name. While these bowlers have impressed at the domestic level and in India-A tours, replicating that success on a full-fledged Test tour presents a different challenge. Morkel, drawing from his own experiences of playing in Australia, has been guiding them through the demands of bowling in such conditions.

“It’s great to have them around in the squad,” Morkel said, referring to the newcomers. “I think they add a lot of variation to the attack, especially Harshit, who bowls at a good pace and extracts bounce out of the surface. It's their first tour, and for Harshit, it's a bit of an unknown. My message to him was to listen to the stories and take advice but also stay in your own bubble and find those experiences for yourself."

Morkel also singled out Reddy for his all-round abilities, particularly his accuracy and ability to extract seam movement, which could prove valuable on the fast and bouncy Perth wickets. “He’ll be a guy who can hold one end up. He hits the bat harder than you think and is very accurate in his wicket-to-wicket style,” Morkel said. “On these conditions, especially in the first couple of days when there’s some seam movement, he could play an important role. The allrounder’s role is crucial for taking the load off the fast bowlers, and I think he’s a player to keep an eye on.”

While the focus is on the bowlers, Morkel also acknowledged the importance of India’s younger batters in the upcoming series. The team could field their youngest XI, in terms of combined age, since the 1947 tour to Australia, with Devdutt Padikkal potentially taking the No. 3 spot and Dhruv Jurel at No. 6. Morkel sees this as an exciting opportunity for the young players to test themselves against one of the world’s toughest bowling attacks.

“It’s going to be great learning for these guys,” Morkel said. “Australia doesn’t bowl many bad balls, but there’s good leadership in the group to help settle nerves. The wicket will be fast and bouncy, and it’s up to the individuals to come up with their game plans and mental strategies to face this challenge over the next 43 days.”

Morkel also gave an update on the fitness of Shubman Gill, who sustained a thumb injury while fielding in the pre-series intra-squad match. “Shubman is improving every day,” Morkel said. “He took a nasty blow in the mock game, and it will be a day-to-day process. Fingers crossed for improvement, but we’ll make a final call on him only on the morning of the match.”

Gill attended training on Wednesday but only participated minimally, spending time with Rishabh Pant before leaving. It remains uncertain whether Gill will be fit to play in the opening Test in Perth, which begins in two days.

As for the No. 3 spot in the batting lineup, Padikkal, who has been retained in the squad after his work with the India A team, looks set to fill in temporarily should Gill not be available.

With the series set to begin in Perth, Morkel is optimistic about India's prospects, particularly with the young talent in their squad. However, he is also realistic about the challenges they face against a formidable Australian side on home soil.