Chennai Super Kings' biggest catch at the IPL auctions - Chris Morris

South African all-rounder Christopher Morris was bought by the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL auctions held on Sunday for a sum of $625,000. Morris is an all-rounder in the mould of Lance Klusener, regularly clocking above 140 kph and being more than handy with the bat. He plays for the Highveld Lions in the South African domestic circuit and has played only a single international match for South Africa, in a T20I against New Zealand in December.

During the auctions, he was sitting in the dressing room with his Lions teammates and watching the proceedings from an iPad. The final sum of $625,000, which in South African Rands translates to R5.5 million, was a figure he hadn’t imagined in his wildest dreams, while sitting with his teammates in Kimberley on Sunday. What added to the astonishment of his and his teammates around him was the fact that the all-rounder from Pretoria had a base price of $20,000 at the auctions. As the Chennai Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians battled it out in the middle, Morris watched the sum cross the $100,000, joked around in disbelief when it reached $450,000 and finally saw the figure reach an unbelievable $625,000. Within 10 minutes, he had become a millionaire.

“I have never in my life seen this much money,” Morris admitted later. He tweeted this later:

Very excited to be a part of the CSK family…thank you for the awesome messages! #blessed

— Chris Morris (@Tipo_Morris) February 4, 2013

 

Incidentally, Chris Morris caught Chennai Super Kings’ coach Stephen Fleming’s eye during the Champions League T20 clash between the Lions and CSK in Cape Town last year. Chris Morris took 1 wicket for 24 runs in that match, and also scored 12 off 7 in a successful chase for the Lions. Despite the figures not being overly impressive, his performance caught the attention of coach Fleming in the opposition camp, who talked with Chris after the match, showing his appreciation for the youngster’s bowling during the fixture.

Chris was the highest wicket-taker for the Lions in South Africa’s domestic T20 competition last season and played a crucial role in their road to the final. He has impressed most by continuously bowling over the 140 kmph mark. He has been performing the role of Lions’ bowling spearhead to the hilt, and has won them quite a few matches with his performances.

In 25 Twenty20 matches played so far, he has taken 35 wickets at 16.68, with an economy rate of 6.85 in his budding career. He also scores at a strike rate of 175.29 and averages almost 25 with the bat in Twenty20 cricket. He is definitely a huge find for the two-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings.