There have also been some unique cases. Sam Curran represents England, while his brother Ben Curran, a replacement player, turns out for Zimbabwe, the country their late father Kevin Curran once represented.
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Cricket has witnessed several instances of brothers sharing the field, either as teammates or rivals, adding an emotional quotient. From the Chappell brothers, Ian Chappell and Greg Chappell, to the Waugh twins, Steve Waugh and Mark Waugh, to the Morkel brothers — Albie and Morne, sibling pairings have long been part of cricket folklore. India had the Amarnaths — Mohinder Amarnath, Surinder Amarnath and Rajinder Amarnath — while the Pathans, Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan, and the Pandyas, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya, have also left their imprint. Pakistan’s famed Mohammed brothers — Hanif Mohammad, Sadiq Mohammad, Mushtaq Mohammad and Wazir Mohammad — and New Zealand’s Hadlees, Richard Hadlee and Dale Hadlee, further enriched the game’s tapestry.
There have also been some unique cases. Sam Curran represents England, while his brother Ben Curran, a replacement player, turns out for Zimbabwe, the country their late father Kevin Curran once represented.
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Yet what the Morkels bring to the table is a different dynamic altogether. They are neither walking out together nor locking horns as players anymore. Instead, Albie, who featured in 109 internationals across formats and Morne with a mighty 247 appearances for the Rainbow nation, are engaged in a tactical battle from opposing dugouts, shaping strategies and analysing match-ups from rival camps.
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On Sunday, their family home in Vereeniging, an industrial town south of Johannesburg, will be divided when India take on the Proteas in a high-stakes ICC T20 World Cup Super Eights clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
While Albie is serving as South Africa’s specialist consultant for the tournament, Morne is part of India’s support staff under head coach Gautam Gambhir, working as the bowling coach.
Two days away from the clash, Morne admitted that contact between the two has been limited during the competition. “I saw him arrive at the ground. But we haven’t been talking a lot. Good to see him though,” he said when asked about Albie.
A couple of days earlier, Albie offered a light-hearted response when asked whether the brothers might exchange insights ahead of the marquee encounter. “No, we don’t talk to each other,” Albie said. “I think my mother, she’s more worried than us. She doesn’t know who to support, India or South Africa.”
The brothers have previously shared the same global stage in coaching roles during the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022, when Albie worked as Namibia’s assistant coach and Morne was involved with the bowling unit.
Since then, their professional journeys have diverged. Morne honed his coaching credentials in franchise cricket with Durban’s Super Giants in the SA20 and the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL. The 41-year-old later served as Pakistan’s bowling coach before reuniting with his former LSG head coach, now India’s national team coach, Gautam Gambhir, as India’s bowling mentor.
Albie, meanwhile, has been closely associated with the Chennai Super Kings setup, contributing to both the IPL franchise and its SA20 counterpart, Joburg Super Kings.
Come Sunday, while the spotlight will definitely be on the on-field action, but in the shadows of the dugouts, a quieter contest will unfold, momentarily turning brotherhood into off-field rivalry.
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