Morkel urges India seamers to adapt quickly to Sri Lanka conditions

India bowling coach Morne Morkel has warned the team’s seamers that the Kookaburra ball could soften after 25-30 overs in Sri Lanka. He urged them to adapt to the heat, humidity and changing conditions while maintaining intensity throughout the Tests

Galle: India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel has urged the team’s seamers to adapt quickly to Sri Lanka’s heat, humidity and the changing nature of the Kookaburra ball, stressing that maintaining intensity and finding creative ways to generate pressure will be crucial in the two-Test series which will commence on Saturday.

India’s pace department has been dealt a significant blow with Jasprit Bumrah ruled out of the series due to a knee injury. Mohammed Siraj is now the most experienced member of the seam attack, with Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar and newly called-up Auqib Nabi providing the other options.

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Morkel believes the conditions will test the Indian seamers’ ability to adjust their plans once the ball loses its hardness.

“Our skill is there, and the planning will be there, but the biggest challenge coming to Sri Lanka is the heat, the humidity, and the Kookaburra ball going soft a little earlier. It will go soft after 25 or 30 overs, so we have to expect that. In these conditions, it’s all about your mindset. If you’re a fast bowler, if you’re going to bowl the shortest spells, the energy you put into the ball and putting it into good areas — you’ll always have opportunity,” Morkel said, as quoted by Cricinfo.

The bowling coach wants India’s seamers to make the most of the early stages of their spells before finding alternative methods to create chances as the ball gets older.

“As the Test match will go on, hopefully there will be a little bit of uneven bounce. It’s about how we can stack up overs together with intensity and create that pressure because we haven’t played a lot of red-ball cricket in the last couple of months; going back into that is going to be a challenge as well,” he said.

The former South Africa pacer believes hitting the deck hard and maintaining disciplined lengths can still trouble batters in Sri Lankan conditions. Still, the bowlers will need to become more inventive once the Kookaburra loses its hardness.

“Even in our playing days, I thought if you hit the deck hard here, you are asking lots of questions on a good length, you’re always in the chance of picking up results,” Morkel said.

“When the ball goes soft, what is our next step? We have to be street smart in terms of how we’re going to use the crease or how we’re going to use our short ball. We need to be able to do some of that quite quickly,” he added.

The first Test will be played in Galle from August 15, while the second Test is scheduled for Colombo from August 23.