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Chris Morris. (Gallo images)
The Indian Premier League (IPL) remains a source of untold wealth for Chris Morris.
The 33-year-old Proteas all-rounder made waves again on Thursday by becoming the most expensive player in tournament history after being sold for an incredible $ 2.25 million in his latest auction.
At the current exchange rate, that equates to an amount of around 32.7 million rand.
Rajasthan Royals, who had previously acquired it for the 2015 tournament, walked away with the winning bid after an intense price war.
Morris had been released by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) after last year’s edition and his previous franchise apparently tried to get him back at a reduced price.
But they did not count on the Mumbai Indians to launch a tough bidding war for him.
Once RCB withdrew, the Royals entered the fray and had to avoid a late offer from Kings XI Punjab to get their man.
Jake Lush McCrum, the franchise’s CEO, later revealed that they were more than comfortable with their purchase.
“We spoke to Chris before the auction, we did a full medical check. We did the due diligence, he is an ex-Royal who can deal with a price like that,” he said.
“Quality bowler in all phases of the game, he can also win us games with the bat. We were stretching, that was our last offer, thankfully Kings XI held back. Nice to have him back with the Royals.”
Morris has not been to South Africa since the 2019 World Cup campaign and is currently part of the Titans team for the CSA T20 Challenge.
At the time of this writing, no other South African had been through the hammer yet.
