Rajasthan Royals spoke to injury-prone Chris Morris before auction, did medical review

Sydney Thunder`s Chris Morris during the Big Bash League last year. Pic/AFP

Chris Morris created IPL history on Thursday when he became the costliest player ever after Rajasthan Royals bought the South African all-rounder for a whopping Rs 16.25 crore at the auction in Chennai.

Morris, who was bought for Rs 10 crore by Royals Challengers Bangalore at the last IPL auction, was released despite a decent performance where he claimed 11 wickets and scored 34 runs in five innings. The reason to part ways Morris's struggle with injury that saw him miss five matches in the 2020 edition. On Thursday, when Morris entered the auction, RCB were the first to raise the paddle at his base price of Rs 75 lakh. Mumbai Indians then entered the fray as bids touched Rs 5 crore. RCB took it further, to Rs 7 crore and then Rs 9 crore. MI looked determined till Rs 13 crore before Kings Punjab took the bid to Rs 13.50 crore. RR finally sealed it at Rs 16.25 crore.

Given Morris's history of injury issues, the price tag seemed massive. RR's chief executive Jake Lush McCrum however, felt otherwise. "We spoke to Chris before the auction, did a full medical review. We did our due diligence. He's an ex-Royals, who can deal with a price tag like that. He's a quality bowler and can win us games with the bat too. We did stretch [the price], but that was our last bid. We're delighted to have him back with the Royals," he said.