Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir feels that star all-rounder Chris Morris, who became the costliest ever IPL buy, will be under pressure to deliver and said that he is not sure if Morris still has the X-factor.
Chris Morris impressed everyone with his performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 as the all-rounder picked up 11 wickets and played some crucial cameos with the bat in the 9 matches he played for Royal Challengers Banglore but was released by the franchise due to his injury concerns.
In the mini-auction ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, which took place in Chennai, Chris Morris became the most expensive overseas player in IPL history.
Chris Morris incited a massive bidding war between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals but was finally picked at a jaw-dropping price of INR 16.25 crore by Sanju Samson-led RR.
With that price tag, he overtook Yuvraj Singh's price tag of Rs 16 crore by Delhi Capitals in IPL 2015 for the most expensive buy in the history of the cash-rich league.
IPL 2021: "We're have a very specific role for Chris Morris," says RR director Kumar Sangakkara
Reflecting on the same former Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir said that he didn’t expect Morris to go for that much money and added that he is not sure if the latter still has the X-factor.
"I didn't expect him to go for that much money because he has not played international cricket, I can understand Maxwell, he played well against India during the Australia tour in the T20 format. Morris, I don't know if he is anymore an X-factor, he does bowl, he does bat a little bit at No.7 or No. 8,” Gautam Gambhir said on Starsports.
Gambhir further said Morris will face immense price-tag pressure and will have to prepare for playing at least 14 games in the season, something he has never done before.
"He could be a back-up for someone like Ben Stokes. But 16.25 crore, now there will be a lot of pressure on him to deliver. He needs to play 14 games.
“I am sure he would be working to play 14 games, at this price tag you would definitely want to play the entire tournament and he has not done that for any franchise, I reckon he has played for. But then Rs 16.25 crore for someone who hasn't played any competitive cricket. We have to see what kind of rhythm he comes in," he said.
Chris Morris will join the likes of Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, and Jofra Archer to make the Rajasthan-based franchise one of the most feared all-around sides in IPL 2021.
(Starsports inputs)
