The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has appointed Sairaj Bahutule, associated with the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, as the interim bowling coach for the men's team for the six-match white-ball series against Sri Lanka.
According to Cricbuzz, Morne Morkel will not be travelling to Sri Lanka with the Indian team due to personal reasons.
Morkel, who resides in Sydney, has travelled to Pretoria to attend to his unwell father. There is a possibility that he will join the squad ahead of the home series against Bangladesh, which includes two Tests and three T20Is, in September-October.
Bahutule (51) will be part of the Gautam Gambhir-led coaching staff, which includes Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate as assistant coaches. T Dilip, who was with the previous dispensation under Rahul Dravid, will continue as the fielding coach. All the coaches will depart for the island along with the players on Monday afternoon.
Bahutule, a former leg-spinning all-rounder, played two Tests and eight ODIs during a six-year international career from 1997-2003.
Meanwhile, ten Doeschate, who has been with the LA Knight Riders in Major League Cricket (MLC) in the US, is expected to join the squad in India.
He is scheduled to arrive in Mumbai in plenty of time to depart with the rest of the team on Monday afternoon. Before their departure, Gambhir will be unveiled by the BCCI as the new national coach.
Gambhir will address the media on Monday morning. The Indian team is set to play three T20Is and three ODIs from 27 July to 7 August.
Remember, India's squad for the white-ball series was confirmed earlier this week. Rohit Sharma will lead the ODI side, while Suryakumar Yadav is the new T20I captain.
India's squads for Sri Lanka series
T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Ꮪhubman Gill (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj.
ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.
