Chris Morris becomes the most expensive player in IPL auction history

Chris Morris was sold for Rs. 16.25 crore to the Rajasthan Royals

South African all-rounder Chris Morris has been bought by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) for a whopping Rs. 16.25 crore, making him the most expensive purchase in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.

Chris Morris was targeted by the Mumbai Indians (MI) right from the outset. The defending champions were ready to spend almost all of their purse for him. They faced significant competition from the pacer's former team, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

MI and RCB battled for Morris before the latter opted out at the Rs. 10-crore mark, which was the price at which they bought him last year. RR joined the party soon and were locked in a battle with the Kings XI Punjab after MI pulled out.

RR clinched the final bid for Chris Morris at Rs. 16.25 crore - Rs. 0.25 crore more than the previous owner of the most expensive player in the auction record, Yuvraj Singh. RCB skipper Virat Kohli remains the highest-paid player in the league at Rs. 17 crore, which is Rs. 2 crore over the usual retention amount.

How will Chris Morris fit in at RR?

Chris Morris will provide support for Jofra Archer at RR. The English speedster waged a lone battle in the pace department in IPL 2020, with Tom Curran, Andrew Tye, Jaydev Unadkat, Ankit Rajpoot, and Varun Aaron struggling to impress.

RR have another solid pace-bowling all-rounder in Ben Stokes, and Archer himself is quite capable with the bat. Young Kartik Tyagi is their best Indian fast bowler at the moment, while the team also acquired Shivam Dube for Rs. 4.4 crore.

Retained Players: Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Mayank Markande, Rahul Tewatia, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Robin Uthappa, Jaydev Unadkat, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat, Kartik Tyagi, David Miller, Andrew Tye

Released Players: Steve Smith, Akash Singh, Anirudha Joshi, Ankit Rajpoot, Oshane Thomas, Shashank Singh, Tom Curran, Varun Aaron

Trades (OUT): Robin Uthappa

Bought Players: Chris Morris, Shivam Dube