South African medium-pacer Chris Morris will bring all his experience of playing in India in the lucrative Indian Premier League when he tours the country for three Twenty20 Internationals and five ODIs next month.
South African medium-pacer Chris Morris will bring all his experience of playing in India in the lucrative Indian Premier League when he tours the country for three Twenty20 Internationals and five ODIs next month.
The 28-year-old right-arm medium-pacer from Pretoria played for Chennai Super Kings in 2013 after being bought at the auction for a whopping $6,25,000. He picked up 15 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 26.73 and a economy rate of 8.02. His second season in IPL came in 2015 for Rajasthan Royals, for whom he was the joint highest-wicket taker with 13 scalps from 11 games with improved average and economy rate of 23.92 and 7.40, respectively.
Morris has appeared in only seven ODIs (8 wickets) across two years and two T20Is (4 wickets) but is now keen to seal his place in the Proteas line-up. He missed a major part of South Africa's recent tour of Bangladesh due to groin injury and is now on a comeback trail.
“The preparation has been pretty good. It's been a lot of hard work. The last two months have been tough for me. I am coming back from injury. So preparations are going well, almost 100 per cent fit and raring to go,” Morris told in Centurion on Wednesday following a fast bowling camp.
Morris, one of the key figures to guide Rajasthan Royals to the Eliminator in IPL-8, said that it won't be easy for him and his team in India. “India is a very, very tough place to play. It's really hot, really loud with testing conditions. The conditioning that we do before the tour is very, very vital. And mostly a lot of liquids have to be taken. But it will be very nice to jump into the pools at the end of the day,” Morris said.
Playing on the turning pitches of India will be a challenge for his batsmen, Morris said. “The turning wickets pose a lot of problems for many batsmen in the world. It is going to be really really tough for our guys. Looking at the shorter formats, the wickets have been pretty good in India. I think there should be some high scoring games. The boys know to play out of their socks. The wickets should be pretty good,” he said.
Morris himself is a handy bat though he has not displayed his talent with the willow in the handful of internationals he has played. However, Indian cricket followers will not forget the vital knocks he played lower in the order for Royals in the last edition of IPL, making known his penchant for clearing the boundary with ease.
It is no secret that the pitch conditions will suit reverse swing in India. Morris said a few technical adjustments will have to be made while batting. “With a lot of reverse swing, you have to get a few technique changes especially getting the legs out of the way. With the ball spinning, you have to play the ball later and wait for it a bit longer. A few technical changes need to be made, but not too much,” he said.
Morris is up for the competition for places within the squad, David Wiese being one of the contenders in the T20 line-up. “The competition was always there. It's always tough to get in with those players there. There is always competition, we will be trying to push them as far as they can. Maybe there are more spots to grab and seal the spot for the upcoming World Cup,” he said.
Morris will be keen to impress on his maiden international tour to India and book in advance his place for next year's ICC World T20 that will be held in India early next year.
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