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Chris Morris talks RCB, Indian pace battery, Mother Cricket and more

The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League, hosted against all odds in the ongoing year is nearing its business end. The current season of the cash-rich league is unfurling to be one of its most entertaining ones in a long, long while, and to think of it, it was almost on the verge of getting cancelled by the raging Covid-19 pandemic. 

While the Board of Control for Cricket in India needs to be given full plaudits for that, it is the teams and their breath-taking performances that have kept the edition so competitive. Even after match 43, technically speaking, every team can still make it to the playoffs berth. 

Coming out of a six-month hiatus, it was clear that this was not going to be an easy tournament. Players would be sluggish off the lockdown, and teams like Royal Challengers Bangalore that have not traditionally done well were easier to be counted off the elite category. Especially after their big-money signing Chris Morris picking up a nasty side strain at the beginning of the tournament.

“I’ve never had that kind of an injury and I got it when I was batting. I wasn’t hit by a ball or anything. I was just playing a shot and it was my stomach muscle,” Morris said.

But, 2020 is not a normal year, and RCB are not a normal team.

Since his return, Chris Morris has been prolific, to say the least, and the 33-year old has dished out incredible performances day in- day out and has been responsible for tying it all together for the trophy starved RCB camp.

“The medical staff were incredible. We worked really hard, myself and the medical staff. It was a tough four weeks. I would wake myself at night every two hours and ice myself throughout the night.”

For a team like RCB who have known to be poor in the death, Morris has brought his limitless knowledge and an effective approach that has reaped rewards this season. 

But is there added pressure, because of that? Morris does not think so.

“Cricket, in general, comes with pressure, IPL comes with pressure, life comes with pressure. I don’t think death bowling has been a problem, maybe a little bit of guidance was needed, and maybe a change of thinking. I think us practicing hard is showing up in our games.”

Having said that it is not just the inclusion of Morris that has brought in the change. A team that has traditionally been heavy on the abilities of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers has turned up with other match winners in every segment of the game.

Take for example, Devdutt Padikkal who has been outscoring Aaron Finch at the top, Washington Sundar bowling in the powerplay, Navdeep Saini with his blistering pace and for that matter Mohammad Siraj, who blew away Kolkata Knight Riders with his spell of 4-2-8-3.

Morris was all praises for the Indian contingent at the RCB and reminiscing the Siraj spell he said,

“Ah man, you don’t see something like that happen often in any format of the game, especially in T20s. The way Siraj came back from the tough game last time. I like to call him the rouge, cause he is a rouge bowler. He is a great competitor to have on the field.”

Mohammad Siraj’s bowling is a good example of what has changed in RCB this year. In the previous years, you would see a lot of experimentation with athletes playing out of their comfort zone. Let’s take Siraj’s case. He earned his name in the domestic circuit bowling at the top but was never given the role of a strike bowler. He bowled up top against KKR and produced a spell that turned out to be the best ever in the IPL history.

Morris said that it is incredible that the staff backs its players and that he is enjoying a lot with working with the Indian players at RCB.

“I was with (Navdeep) Saini in Delhi and I could not believe that he wasn’t playing in our team.”

He said that Saini impressed him in Delhi bowling at rocket speed and he proclaimed that India was in good hands when it comes to their fast bowlers.

“The amount of work rate that these guys put in is really impressive. They bowl, they bowl, they bowl, they bowl. They are working hard will Dale (Steyn), talking about how to get the seam right and to see that come to fruition in the last game is incredible.”

Players this season have been fielded to their strengths and have been kept at a happy space by some incredible background work by the franchise. The RCB social media has been abuzz with activities and is testament to how modern teams handle the aspect of mental health.

“The RCB management have been unbelievable. We’ve got a beach to ourselves and last night we had a BBQ. They have done everything to keep us comfortable. Our bio bubble has been really cool.”

Not only the bio-bubble, the team has also looked comfortable on the field too. While several franchises like CSK, KKR and SRH have struggled to find a combination, RCB have settled in and are currently hold the third spot in the table.

Asked about the playoff positions and if he thinks RCB will make it comfortably a wary Morris replied that the playoffs are not secured till they are secured.

“The focus is to win the next game and take it step by step and till winning becomes a habit.” 

Morris further stated that he has not had a bad day yet, but knowing IPL, it would come and he stated that the bounce-back ability needs to be high if a team wanted to win the IPL.

“I haven’t been smacked really yet, and that’s going to come. But it is important to learn from it and fix the next ball. The bounce-back ability needs to be good.”

Speaking about their next game against Chennai Super Kings, Morris said that any team playing in the IPL needs to be well prepared given the history of the Chennai based team.

“How many trophies have CSK won? It’s also the southern derby so…No game in the IPL is a cakewalk.”

However modest Chris Morris be, it can be argued that RCB are looking the best since the inception of the tournament. They have a good playing combination, great bunch of players in the bench who have come in and showed that they belong.

Morris stated that the team’s immediate goals were to make it to the playoff position and if they finish in the top two, it would be a cherry on top.

“There is a lady called Mother Cricket who will sort you out if you think like that. Just when you think that you’ve gotten ahead of yourself, Mother Cricket will go, ‘Calm down, down act smart’ and it’s gonna bite you in the bum,” Morris signed off.

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