‘He helped me quite a lot’: Morkel reveals Shami's role in Indian dressing room

Former South Africa fast bowler and India's bowling coach Morne Morkel has paid tribute to Mohammed Shami following the Indian pacer's decision to retire from Test cricket, recalling how the Bengal speedster helped him settle into the Indian dressing room during his early days with the team. Morkel, who became part of head coach Gautam Gambhir's coaching staff in 2024, said Shami played an important role in helping him understand the team's culture and communication. Although the two did not get an opportunity to work together in the Test format, they shared a brief stint during the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, which was Shami's last appearance in an India jersey. Speaking to host broadcasters Sony Sports during a pre-match interview, Morkel described Shami as a highly skilled cricketer and someone whose presence made a difference in the dressing room. He also recalled how the pacer helped him become familiar with the team's environment when he first joined the set-up. "Yeah, I was quite fortunate when I first started with the group for Shami to be a part of the team. You know, highly skillful player, a quality guy to have around in the group. And I was quite lucky when I joined for him to bring sort of the Indian language into the dressing room. He helped me quite a lot. So a sad day to see him go," Morkel said.

Shami announced his retirement from Test cricket on Friday, ending a 12-year journey in which he collected 229 wickets in 64 matches. Across formats, he finished with 462 international wickets, including 206 in ODIs. However, the 36-year-old is not stepping away from the game altogether. He intends to continue playing white-ball cricket for Bengal and feature in the Indian Premier League for some more time. Morkel expressed satisfaction at the fact that Shami remains active in domestic cricket and continues to put in the hard yards with the ball. The India bowling coach pointed out that the fast bowler is still delivering substantial workloads back home. "I mean, he's still bowling a lot of overs back home and it's still great to see," Morkel added.