Would love to have Kirsten as SA coach, says Morne Morkel

South Africa speedster Morne Morkel feels that his country's cricket would benefit highly if Gary Kirsten decides to coach the national team.

"I would love to see Gary (Kirsten) coach South African team. He has a proven track record. Personally, I have always shared a great rapport with Gary. He is loved and respected in the South African dressing room. His success with India has been phenomenal and he now knows a thing or two about how it feels to win the World Cup," Morkel said during an interaction on Wednesday.

Interestingly, Cricket South Africa are keen on roping in Kirsten as Corrie van Zyl's tenure as the chief coach ended after the World Cup.


As the discussion veered towards IPL and Delhi Daredevils' unimpressive show, Morkel was forthright in admitting that the Ferozeshah Kotla track has proved to be a difficult one for pacers.

"It's been hard work for us. But the pitch can't be an excuse for not bowling well. Our performance has been a culmination of both poor batting and bowling. I guess on this track it's difficult to get too many wickets. So we should rather try and restrict the batsmen," the 26-year-old speedster from Transvaal said.

He said that Dale Steyn's bowling is something that the Delhi bowlers should emulate at the death overs.

"Once the ball gets soft, you need to take the pace off your deliveries. Look at how Steyn used the cutters to good effect at the end of our innings. Skill wise, we are a good team. It's just that we need a bit of confidence as lot of guys are playing together for the first time."

On personal front, he is still recovering from a stomach bug that has weakened him considerably.

"I am training hard to get my strength back after being bitten by the stomach bug. Hopefully, we do well in the remaining 10 matches and our fans would have a reason to smile."

Does he find it difficult to share the new ball with the likes of Ashok Dinda and Umesh Yadav after partnering world's best pacer Dale Steyn ?

"I believe they (Dinda, Yadav) have a lot of talent. Skillwise, they are there and now it's matter of gaining experience. We have a good pace attack and we are gelling well. The main focus will be to stick to the basics and do the little things well," Morkel said.

Morkel defended his skipper Virender Sehwag's poor form. "He is a fantastic captain. He is a match-winner and everyone knows about it."

About their next opponents Kings XI Punjab, Morkel feels that Irfan Pathan's experience of playing with franchise will come in handy.

"Obviously, Irfan is an experienced cricketer and his inputs about the team will be useful. We definitely have a few strategies in mind but it won't be a good idea to reveal them."

As there wasn't any training scheduled on Wednesday, Morkel visited the Puma store to check out on the latest brand of sporting wear.

"It's always nice to try out new stuff designed by Puma," he concluded.