Chris Morris- Naturally Gifted Athlete

The cricketing career of South African all-rounder Chris Morris started off in 2009, where he played for the North West, a first-class cricket team of South Africa. Since then, Morris has never looked back and has played for the national side and several other T20 clubs, including Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League . Morris has also played for South African Invitation XI, Surrey, Titans, South Africa A, St Kitts, Durban Qalandars, Nevis Patriots, Sydney Thunder, North West and Highveld Lions.

Chris Morris is the kind of gifted cricketer who can turn the game of cricket with the bat as well as the ball. He can maintain speed while generating good bounce with the bowl and has the ability to hit some orthodox as well as unorthodox shots with the bat. He has the capability to get his team over the line, especially from difficult situations in limited over games.

PERSONAL DETAILS

Chris Morris Domestic Career

Chris Morris took to cricket as a career quite late in life and made his First-Class debut at the age of 22 in 2009 against North West. He established himself as the leading bowler of their team by 2011-12 and was the highest wicket-taker in the domestic T20 matches by taking 21 wickets. Due to his terrific performance, Christopher Morris got selected for the T20I squad for the Zimbabwe series, where he did not get a chance to play. Still, he had a couple of insightful sessions that shaped his career with former South African fast-bowler Allan Donald, who is now a coach.

In the 2012 Champions League, Morris performed brilliantly where his franchise Highveld Lions reached the finals. Due to his excellent performance in the tournament,, Chris Morris was called for the T20I series against New Zealand in December 2012. After a few months, he was selected for the Champions Trophy squad, where he made his ODI debut at Birmingham against Pakistan. In September 2018, Morris was chosen for the Titans' squad for the 2018 Abu Dhabi T20 Trophy. Then he was named in the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants' squad for the first edition of the T20 tournament, Mzansi Super League. He turned out to be the leading wicket-taker for his team in the tournament, taking nine wickets in seven matches.

Chris Morris IPL Career

Chennai Super Kings bought Morris during the 2013 IPL auction for US$650,000, and he played a crucial role in getting his team to the finals where they lost to Mumbai Indians . Morris took 15 wickets in the season, whereas in the 2015 edition, he ended up taking 13 wickets for his team Rajasthan Royals . In the 2016 IPL auction, he was bought by Delhi Daredevils for a staggering US$1 million. In this season, Morris scored his highest T20 score against Gujarat Lions. He scored 82 runs from 32 balls that included eight sixes and four fours. In IPL 2017 and IPL 2018, Chris Morris played for Delhi Daredevils; however, he was ruled out of the 2018 season after sustaining an injury in the tournament's first few matches.  Morris’s IPL career for Delhi Capitals was promising enough to merit selection in IPL 2019 as well and he helped his team qualify for the semis. In the 2020 IPL auction, Morris was released by Delhi Capitals and was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore . In 2021, he became the highest bid player in the history of IPL as he was bought by the Rajasthan Royals for 16.25 Crores.

International Career

Morris made his T20I debut for the South African team against New Zealand, in December 2012, where he suffered an injury after taking two wickets in 3.4 overs and conceding 19 runs. On June 10, 2013, he made his debut for the South African team in a One Day International against Pakistan in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. On January 2, 2016, he made his Test debut for South Africa against England.

In the one-day series between South Africa and England in February 2016, Morris helped South Africa level the series with his terrific batting in the 4th ODI, making 62 runs off 38 balls. In the rain-delayed 34-over game against New Zealand , Chris Morris picked four early wickets in his spell of 7 overs. For the England tour of South Africa from May 2017 to August 2017, Morris was part of the Test, ODI and T20I squad. Morris was also selected for the South African team for the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, where South Africa failed to qualify for the semis.

Morris replaced Anrich Nortje from South Africa's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup, after Nortje was ruled out of the tournament for sustaining a hand injury. He became the leading wicket-taker for South Africa in the tournament by taking thirteen wickets in eight matches.

Chris Morris’s Stats

BATTING & FIELDING PERFORMANCE

BOWLING PERFORMANCE