Mzansi Super League 2018: Durban Heat appoint Albie Morkel as the captain

Durban Heat have appointed all-rounder Albie Morkel as the captain for the inaugural edition of the Mzansi Super League. Heat will kick-off the season with the game against Cape Town Blitz on November 18. The franchise’s decision to back Morkel as the leader makes sense given his experience of having featured in most T20 leagues around the world.

He has played most of his cricket at Pretoria thus he was very familiar and comfortable with the environment there and will now be moving to Durban which he considers an exciting challenge. Getting into the captain’s zone he said since this is the first time the squad will come together to play under this banner it will not be a huge challenge to get them along as a unit.

Morkel excited to be leading a new team in a new competition

“I have played my cricket in Pretoria for fifteen years so I have become very comfortable with that environment, so it is going to be an exciting challenge,” Morkel was quoted as saying by Sport24. “We aren’t changing franchises or anything like that, this competition is completely new with completely new squads so it’s not going to be difficult to try and convince guys to get behind the team,” he added.

The Durban team also has two big names from the Proteas squad in Hashim Amla and David Miller along with Kyle Abbott. Morkel is already showing characteristics to be a good leader and mentioned that he will take help from the senior players in the team and form a leadership group. At the same time, he also takes the responsibility of calling the shots himself.

“I’m not walking in there thinking that I know everything. I have a lot of senior players to get help from and I am sure we will form a nice leadership group with all the senior guys. I’ll have the help of those guys but it will be up to me to make the calls on the field,” Morkel added.

Durban Heat coach Grant Morgan thinks the 37-year-old’s experience and his T20 track record sets him up for great things. “He has an incredible T20 track record that includes winning big T20 tournaments,” Morgan said. “He has the respect of his players and he is a player that will be picked in the starting XI. His T20 experience around the world is virtually unparalleled which is another massive plus for us.”

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