All-rounder Chris Morris is enjoying being a key member of the Royal Challengers' 2020 Indian Premier League campaign, despite a belated start.
Morris was a late addition to the XI after recovering from a stomach muscle injury. He has since taken nine wickets in five matches – and contributed handy runs down the order.
“Give me somebody who doesn't like the feeling of being wanted – whether in sport, in a relationship or just in life in general. It's just nice to feel important. The medical staff were incredible. For them to get me back on the park was really good. I've never had that type of injury before. It was a new thing for me,” said Morris.
“I didn't know what to expect or how long it was going to take. We worked really hard. It was a tough four and half weeks for myself and the medical team.
“We grafted in the gym, we grafted on treatment tables. It was day-in, day-out. I had the machine in my room treating myself throughout the night.
“Literally, I would wake up every two hours and ice myself throughout the night. It was a hard graft and here we are. We are happy to be playing. As a medical team, they were all happy I can get back on the field and start playing.”
RCB's South African Connection
Morris has fellow South African stars Dale Steyn and AB de Villiers in the Bangalore squad. Steyn, though, has not played since 24 September 2020. RCB continue to prefer Sri Lanka seamer Isuru Udana to Steyn in the XI.
“Dale is a legend. Why I have been lucky is because he is not just a mentor, he is actually one of my friends. I pinch myself every now and then and say, Dale is my friend. We love to spend time and do things together,” added Morris.
“We are also very similar in our interests of sport. We also have similar music tastes. So, we click very well and we speak a lot of rubbish together. I'm very lucky not just to have him in the change room but also as my mate.
“His inputs have been so important and valuable. For me, more important for me with Dale is not the stuff that we talk on the field but more the stuff we talk about off the field, in life in general.”
Bangalore have never won the IPL despite reaching three finals. They remain in contention for a berth in the IPL 2020 playoffs.
