IPL 2021: Don't think Chris Morris is worth the money he was bought for, says Kevin Pietersen

South African all-rounder Chris Morris may have sparked a bidding war among teams before eventually going to Rajasthan Royals (RR), but former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen has opined that the 33-year-old went for way too much money. Following a bidding war for South African which was largely dominated by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Mumbai Indians (MI), and RR during the IPL auctions in February this year, Morris was eventually snapped up by the inaugural champions for Rs 16.25 crore, becoming the costliest ever cricketer in IPL history. “This is going to sound harsh, but he went for a lot more money than I would have ever paid for, to be completely honest. I just don’t think that he’s worth that kind of number. I think there’s pressure on him. He’s not a first choice for the South African side. So, I think we’re expecting too much. There’s too much talk about him,” Pietersen was quoted as saying on Star Sports Select Dugout. [caption id=“attachment_9558541” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Chris Morris has not had a productive IPL season with the bat since 2017, when he scored 154 runs off nine games. Sportzpics[/caption] Morris has played every game this season so far but has just taken five wickets, with RCB’s Harshal Patel leading the Purple Cap with 12 scalps. Even with the bat, his only notable contribution came in the form of an unbeaten 36 against Delhi Capitals (DC) in the second match, where he performed well under pressure to take RR home with three wickets to spare. Last season, Morris, playing for RCB, scalped a total of 11 wickets while registering just 34 runs from nine matches. Morris made his IPL debut in 2013 for CSK, and has played every season since 2015. However, he has not had a productive IPL season with the bat since 2017, when he scored 154 runs off nine games. On Thursday against RCB, too, Morris failed to create an impact as he was dismissed for just 10 runs. Pietersen questioned Morris’ impact when it comes to consistently delivering for the team. “I don’t think he’s the kind of guy that’s going to consistently deliver. I mean this with the greatest deal of respect. There’s nothing special about what he does, and if he does run in, he’ll run in for two games. And then he’ll go missing for a few games and it’s not the kind of thing that you should be seeing. He has the attributes,” the Pietermaritzburg-born former cricketer added. RR have got off their worst possible start this season, finding themselves at the bottom of the IPL points table with just two points from four games (One win vs DC). RR, led by young captain Sanju Samson, next face Eoin Morgan’s Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.