Advertisement

Updated March 31st, 2021 at 16:06 IST

Morris distances himself from Steyn's IPL-PSL comparison, clarifies he doesn't 'feel same'

Ahead of the IPL 2021, Morris distanced himself from Steyn's statement claiming that cricket often gets 'forgotten' in the IPL and praise for the PSL.

Reported by: Jitesh Vachhatani
Chris Morris, BCCI/AP
| Image:self
Advertisement

Having bagged the most-expensive contract in IPL history, South Africa's explosive all-rounder Chris Morris begged to differ with his teammate Dale Steyn's comments comparing the Indian league with the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Ahead of the IPL 2021, Morris distanced himself from Steyn's statement claiming that cricket often gets 'forgotten' in the IPL and praise for the PSL. Remarking that he doesn't 'feel the same way' as Steyn, Chris Morris who is set to play for the Rajasthan Royals, said that his Proteas' teammate had just expressed what he was 'feeling' at that time. 

“No, I don’t feel the same (on Steyn’s opinion on IPL). Dale’s a free spirit, Dale’s one of the legends of the game, Dale’s one of my favourite people in the world. Dale’s got his opinions, he will be outspoken about his opinions. I’m not going to delve into it too much and it was just the case of Dale feeling at that time what Dale was feeling – what he was feeling emotionally or physically or mentally,” Chris Morris told ESPNCricinfo.

Adding that he was open to having a conversation with the veteran speedster about the same, Morris maintained that everyone has 'different' opinions and that they are entitled to have it. “Whatever he feels that’s what he feels, and I’m happy to have a conversation with him about it. But, we’re all different animals, we’re all different people and we have different opinions and that’s what makes the world go around,” the new Rajasthan Royals recruit added. 

Steyn courts controversy

Having played for different franchises in the IPL, 37-year-old Dale Steyn downplayed the Indian league while comparing it to the PSL. The veteran speedster who has opted out of the IPL 2021 and chose to play the PSL, claimed that he noticed an "importance on cricket" was visible among the players in PSL and Sri Lankan Premier League. On the other hand, he described IPL as a tournament where cricket often gets “forgotten” as the main topic is-- "How much money did you go for in this IPL?" 

Steyn faced backlash from Indian fans, who  slammed the South African for demeaning the mega league. However, soon after facing intense criticism, Steyn backtracked and termed the Indian Premier League (IPL) as 'nothing short of amazing' in his career as he apologized for his views expressed on the marquee T20 league earlier.  Taking to Twitter, Dale Steyn insisted that his words weren't meant to degrade or compare any of the leagues.

Morris becomes ÍPL's most-expensive buy

The tall South African all-rounder became the most expensive player at an IPL auction during the IPL mini-auctions earlier this year. Morris entered with a base price of INR 75 lakhs. The defending champions Mumbai Indians and the three-time finalists Royal Challengers Bangalore both showed interest before Rajasthan Royals made a belated entry after RCB pulled out at INR 10 crores. The bidding continued between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals and the South African all-rounder was finally sold to the Royals. The fee smashed the record INR 16 crores paid for Yuvraj Singh by Delhi Daredevils in 2015.

Meanwhile, the middle-order batsman will be representing the 2008 champions for the second time in six years. He was a part of the Royals squad during the 2015 edition of the tournament where he could only manage to amass 76 runs in the 11 matches that he got to play at an average of 38 and a strike rate of 165.21. Chris Morris also managed to register 13 scalps as well. at an average of 23.92 and an economy rate of 7.40.  
 

Advertisement

Published March 31st, 2021 at 16:06 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo