“Chris Morris has the right kind of talent” - Saba Karim evaluates the biggest purchase at the auction

Former India cricketer Saba Karim has opined that while Rajasthan Royals have shelled out a humungous amount to purchase Chris Morris at the IPL 2021 auction, the South African all-rounder has the talent to prove his worth.

Chris Morris created IPL history on Thursday, becoming the most expensive player ever to be purchased at the auction. He was bought for ₹16.25 crore, beating the previous record of ₹16 crore, held by former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh.

In a discussion with Sportskeeda’s Indranil Basu in an SK Live session on Facebook, Karim said Chris Morris can offer a lot to the RR franchise if he performs to potential. Karim stated:

“I do believe that Chris Morris has the right kind of talent. He is an exciting speedster. He has the experience of playing in Indian conditions, has been fairly successful. Also, as a batter, he brings good value to the side. That is why I believe, the IPL franchise has gone for Chris Morris and were willing to buy him for such a high price.”

Karim explained that the intense bidding war that broke out for the 33-year-old is something that one cannot avoid at an auction. The former wicketkeeper-batsman further said:

“You possibly can’t justify it (the bidding amount). In the end, it is an auction. And, the moment two teams are fighting for one spot or one player, then this is what obviously happens.”

Super humbled to be joining Rajasthan Royals again: Chris Morris

Reacting to becoming the highest-paid player ever in IPL history, Chris Morris said he is very excited to be a part of Rajasthan Royals. In a video posted on RR's official Twitter, the all-rounder said:

"Hi everyone! Super humbled to be joining Rajasthan again. Unbelievably good time and a good season. One of the better times in my cricket career in 2015 was Rajasthan so unbelievably happy, unbelievably excited. We have a very good squad and to be joining up with Rajasthan again is a very cool experience. Made lots of friends, made lots of good team-mates all those years ago. So very excited to be joining up with everyone again and yeah, it's gonna be a good one. Can't wait to get going.”

Most expensive video you'll see on the internet today..😉 #HallaBol | #RoyalsFamily | #IPLAuction | #IPLAuction2021 | @Tipo_Morris pic.twitter.com/ZG8nMoEfKH

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) February 18, 2021

Chris Morris’ IPL record

In 70 IPL games so far, Chris Morris has claimed 80 wickets at a strike rate of 18.42 and an economy rate of 7.81. With the bat, Morris has smashed 551 runs at a strike rate of 157.87 and a best of 82 not out.