India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel wants the team management to give second-line bowlers such as Prasidh Krishna and Gurnoor Brar sufficient opportunities in the upcoming ODI series against the West Indies, saying match time in different roles will be crucial in building a group for next year’s World Cup. The three-match series, beginning on Sunday, will provide the bowling unit an opportunity to test its resources and allow players in the second line to understand the standards expected of them, Morkel said.
It will be the same now leading into the series and looking at New Zealand (series),” Morkel said ahead of India’s training session. Morkel said exposing bowlers to difficult match situations would help them develop the temperament required to handle pressure rather than merely trying to secure their places in the playing eleven. Morkel said the West Indies series would also mark the beginning of India’s preparations for next year’s ODI World Cup, with the team unwilling to leave the process of building its bowling group until the last minute.
“To give guys opportunity with ball in hand…I think it’s very important for these guys (Prasidh, Brar) to get the game time, to get a feel of the standard that we’re looking to play. So yeah, I think in this series there will definitely be opportunities given to guys to see what they can do in their different roles,” he added. He wants to see how players react to tough situations going into the World Cup.
“I think if you look at the last year, we’ve been trying to give guys some game time and see in different roles how they react.
