Fighting odds: There was a time when I thought of quitting cricket, admits Morne Morkel

It was told to me that I would never be able to play cricket again ever and it was a mental thing to go to the gym: Morkel

By: Score Keepers |
February 16, 2017 4:55 pm

South African pacer Morne Morkel is all set to make a comeback into the national side and has recently made a revelation about his past related to his game. The right-hand fast bowler, who was injured during the One-Day International (ODI) tri-series held in West Indies in June 2016, has said that he was told he would never be able to play cricket again.

In an interview given to a leading sports website, Morkel spoke his heart out and described that once he was surmounted with negativity and hopelessness when it was predicted that he would never be able to play cricket again.

“There was hardly one 100 per cent sure of what was going on with my back and to be honest there was a time when I had a doubt about my future,” he said. “It was told to me that I would never be able to play cricket again ever and it was a mental thing to go to the gym.”

He further said that a doctor told him that his days as a player were counted which was not a nice thing to hear.

The 32-year-old pace bowler will not be a part of the upcoming tenth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), as he is busy right now to retain his fitness for South Africa’s tour of England later this year. Apart from the treatment and doctor’s advice, Morkel has now fully recovered and hopes to rule himself fit for the South Africa’s Test match tour to New Zealand.

Morkel has picked up 242 wickets from 71 Tests and 181 wickets in 108 ODIs that he has played. He was associated with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the last season of IPL and has 77 wickets to his name.