Is Chris Morris retired from international cricket: Rajasthan Royals’ Morris recollects ordeals after players tested positive for COVID-19 in IPL 2021

Chris Morris: The South African all-rounder has returned to his nation after the postponement of Indian Premier League 2021.

Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Chris Morris has admitted that “alarm bells” had started among players after the news of players testing positive for COVID-19 during the recently postponed 14th season of the Indian Premier League.

Morris, who is currently undergoing a quarantine period upon reaching South Africa with the other South African contingent, recollected the ordeals faced by the players especially by those from England. With England’s government enforcing strict rules for people travelling into the country from India, the English players had started to “panic” according to Morris.

“The moment we heard that, when players are testing positive, inside the bubble, then everyone starts asking questions. The alarm bells definitely started going off for all of us. By Monday, when they postponed that game [between KKR and RCB], we knew the tournament was under pressure to continue.

“The England guys especially were panicking because they needed to isolate in hotels in England first, and apparently there weren’t any rooms,” Morris was quoted as saying by IOL in South Africa.

Much like many other overseas players in IPL 2021, Morris also appreciated his management (at Royals) with respect to making their overseas players comfortable. The 34-year old player also shared an experience regarding uncapped South African pacer Gerald Coetzee who was roped in midway through the season as England’s Liam Livingstone’s replacement.

“The [Rajasthan] Royals’ management were brilliant, they had their fingers on the pulse, made everyone feel as comfortable as possible. I know poor Gerald was panicking a bit, I mean he’s only 20 and all this is going on. I tried to keep him under my wing a bit and made sure he was ready when the 12.30 am pick-up came at the hotel. It was eerie, it was just a handful of us in that whole hotel at the time,” Morris said.

Is Chris Morris retired from international cricket?

In seven IPL 2021 matches, Morris had picked 14 wickets at an average of 16, an economy rate of 8.61 and a strike rate of 11.1 to be the second-highest wicket-taker this season. Morris’ limited batting opportunities saw him hitting four sixes to seal a chase against Delhi Capitals.

Morris, who was the costliest player in IPL 2021 auction, is an active international cricketer. Having said that, Morris hasn’t played international cricket since the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 due to various reasons. With a couple of looming ICC T20 World Cups, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Morris returns to South African colours especially in the shortest format.