Morne Morkel has resigned as Pakistan's bowling coach following a horrid World Cup campaign that saw the 1992 World Cup winners fail to qualify for the semifinal of the spectacle. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) issued a media release to make the announcement.
Morkel's resignation brings an end to his brief association with the Pakistan men's cricket team. He was named as Pakistan's bowling coach in the month of June as per a six-month-long contract. He mentored and trained the team's bowling attack on Pakistan's two-match Test tour to Sri Lanka earlier this year as part of his first assignment.
As per the media release issued by the PCB, Morkel's replacement will be announced in due course of time. Morkel was criticised by several former Pakistan cricketers as Pakistan's losing streak at the World Cup 2023 made headlines one after the other.
The issue that plagued their bowling attack the most was the ailing form of their spinners Shadab Khan and Usama Mir. There were a lot of expectations from Shadab, in particular, but the vice-captain of the unit could only manage two scalps in the six games that he played during the tournament. He was not able to even land the ball in the right areas and bowled way too many freebies to the opposition batters.
Shadab was replaced by Usama in the playing XI after the latter failed to create a substantial impact in the initial games. However, the 27-year-old too couldn't bring much change in Pakistan's fortunes and proved fairly expensive in the four games that he played in the 50-over extravaganza. 1/82, 0/55, 2/45 and 1/66 were Usama's bowling figures against Australia, Afghanistan, South Africa and Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, Morkel's resignation indicates that the PCB will bring major personnel changes in the team management ahead of Pakistan's next assignment. They are slated to tour Australia in December for a three-match Test series.
