Where is Albie Morkel now? Life after being CSK's second most expensive pick in IPL 2008

Over the years, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has given the world a lot of promising talent. While some players manage to make it and make it big, there are also players who get in, do well but vanish from the scene and are often left forgotten. One such player is former South Africa and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Albie Morkel who impressed everyone with his all-round abilities in the initial years of the IPL. However, after a dip in his form, he soon faded into oblivion. This has made fans wonder - 'Where is Albie Morkel now?'

ALSO READ | Suresh Raina boldly names Indian team's 'next MS Dhoni' and its NOT Rishabh Pant

Where is Albie Morkel now?

Albie Morkel made his international debut in 2004 against New Zealand. He didn't really have a great series as he could only bag two wickets in three matches at an economy of 4.52. Albie Morkel had a quite debut series with the bat as well as he scored 40 runs in three games at a strike-rate of 67.79. Albie Morkel's international career never really got going as he could only play 58 ODIs, 50 T20Is and a solitary Test.

However, Albie Morkel was known for his fierce hitting which is why he made a name for himself in T20s. The former CSK all-rounder was bought by CSK ahead of IPL 2008. Albie Morkel soon became a crucial part of the Chennai-based franchise. He usually took the new ball and donned the finisher’s role.

ALSO READ | MS Dhoni invited for practice session by Suresh Raina via top 'Helicopter' tribute: Watch

Albie Morkel played for CSK in the first six editions of the IPL where he picked 76 wickets for them in 78 matches. The southpaw was also more than handy with the bat as he helped CSK finish several matches with his exceptional hitting abilities. In 2014, Albie Morkel was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore and subsequently went on to represent Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2015 and now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants in 2016 in what turned out to his final IPL season.

However, he couldn't replicate his heroics from his stint with the CSK. In the next few years, the former CSK star plied his trade in several other franchise-based T20 leagues across the world but gained little success. In January 2019, he hung his boots from all forms of cricket. After taking retirement, he turned towards being a coach. He is currently the assistant coach of the Namibia national cricket team which qualified for 2020 ICC T20 World Cup that was supposed to take place in Australia. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the marquee event was postponed to 2021.

ALSO READ | Brad Hogg reveals why Suresh Raina might never make a come back into the Indian side

Where is Albie Morkel now? Albie Morkel stats

Albie Morkel represented South Africa in 58 ODIs, 50 T20Is and a solitary Test where he scored 782, 572 and 58 runs respectively. He also has 50 ODI wickets, 26 T20I wickets and one Test wicket to his name. In IPL, Albie Morkel scored 686 runs across 91 matches and picked up 85 wickets. His batting strike-rate in IPL was an impressive 141.98.

ALSO READ | Veteran batsman Suresh Raina 'cannot wait' to be reunited with the CSK family for IPL 2020

IMAGE COURTESY: ALBIE MORKEL INSTAGRAM