Things at Rajasthan Royals didn’t turn out to be good for South African all-rounder Chris Morris in the last season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Morris' services were acquired for a whopping Rs 16.25 crore by the IPL franchise in the 2021 IPL auction but his performances did not justify the price tag. As a result, the Proteas all-rounder has been released by the Royals despite having one empty slot in their retention list. Rajasthan retained only three players including captain Sanju Samson, England wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler and young uncapped opener Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The South African is the most expensive player in the history of IPL auctions (excluding fees of retained players). In IPL 2021, Morris took 15 wickets form 11 matches but he was unimpressive on UAE pitches which was also a deciding factor in Royals failing to make it to the playoffs for the third time in a row. With the bat, he could only win one match for his side with a late cameo against Delhi Capitals (DC). That too came in the first leg of the tournament.
However, this is not the first time a franchise has paid big bucks for Morris. In IPL 2020, he was roped in by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for Rs 10 crore from a base price of Rs 75 lakhs. In IPL 2020, he played nine matches and took 11 wickets. With the bat, he could score only 34 runs. In his IPL career, Morris has taken 95 wickets and scored 618 runs from 95 matches.
Morris' dreadful IPL Season
Morris didn’t have a fruitful second leg of IPL 2021. The all-rounder bagged 14 wickets in the first phase but in the second leg, he could only pick one scalp. With his batting too Morris struggled this season as he couldn’t live up to expectations. At times, when Royals suffered a batting collapse, Morris could not do damage control and help his team post a fighting total or get close to the target in a run chase.
