South Africa bowling all-rounder Chris Morris, who is widely recognised as one of the best players in the Twenty20 format, revealed he is thrilled to be the part of South Africa’s own professional Global League.
“I just wanted to be a part of this exciting tournament that is taking place in my own country,” Morris was quoted as saying by Sport24.
Interestingly, the 30-year-old Morris on the first day of the inaugural draft was picked as the first player by the Global League franchise, Durban Qalanders. First choice for the franchises, Morris becomes a valuable buy, as he reiterated that the decision didn’t surprise him and his die-hard fans during the two-day draft.
“Very humbling. I think I’m the only person in this room to be surprised to go first, because everyone keeps telling me they’re not surprised,” Morris maintained.
Morris who bagged ZAR 1.755 million has expressed his satisfaction and eventually happiness after his teammates have also been roped in for the different franchises during the draft in Cape Town on August 27.
“I’m over the moon for some of the guys. I’ve messaged every single guy that I know that’s been picked. It’s good recognition for our players in South Africa,” Morris asserted.
Pertinently, Morris, who has lot of potential both with ball and the bat, revealed he didn’t gave a thought about the financial side of the league, as he was further keen to feature in the domestic competition.
“It’s not about the money for me,” Morris added.
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On the other side, fast bowler Dane Paterson for South Western Districts paceman also earned the deal of ZAR 1.755 million alongside batting all-rounder Jon-Jon Trevor Smuts, who has played six international matches for South Africa.
“He’s been chosen first for his team and he’s just been opening the bowling for South Western Districts. It’s nice to see,” Morris concluded.
It’s pertinent that Durban-based outfit is owned by Fawad Rana, who has also owned Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Owing to the reputation, in the IPL Players’ Auction Morris fetched INR 7 crore deal in February last year, as the whooping amount was shelled out by Delhi Daredevils.
The maiden edition of the Proteas league will be beginning in the month of November, later this year. In 29 ODIs, Morris has bagged 33 wickets followed by four Tests and 14 Twenty20 Internationals. However, Morris has featured in 135 T20Is, in which he has bagged 166 wickets at an average of 25.30 and scored 1,114 at the average of 21.72.