I have never seen this much money, Morris on stunning IPL deal

Johannesburg: The bidding war that his name triggered at the IPL players auction left Chris Morris` head spinning and the South African all-rounder conceded that he has never seen the kind of money he would now be drawing.

"I have never in my life seen this much money," said Morris, who was bought for a whopping USD 625,000 (Rs 3.3 crore) by the Chennai Super Kings, 31 times more than his base price of USD 20,000. Morris was sought by the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bangalore as well but they were outbid by CSK at the auction in Chennai where only 37 of the 108 players in fray managed to find buyers. Morris followed the auction on his ipad and was amazed to see the interest in him. "Neil McKenzie had a little joke with me when it got to (USD) 450,000 but nobody could really believe what was happening," Morris told `ESPN Cricinfo`. In rands, the 25-year-old`s earnings are now 5.5 million and he has no clue how to spend the money except for splurging some of it on his parents. "I honestly don`t know. I suppose one of the things I`d like to do is give my parents anything they should like and spoil them a little bit," he said. Morris was the leading wicket-taker for his domestic team Lions in the national T20 competition last season. He was spotted by CSK coach Stephen Fleming during the Champions League Twenty20 in the same year. "He (Fleming) came and had a chat to me afterwards and said he was impressed with the way I bowled. So I guess that was a big platform for me," Morris said. "Fleming was one of my heroes as a schoolboy, so it will be an honour to be around him. And obviously with Faf (du Plessis) and Albie (Morkel) playing there, it`s going to be quite fun," he said. Talking about the IPL, Morris said he can`t wait to head to Chennai. "I`ve heard it`s pretty hot. But I`ve heard stories from people like Faf about how everyone is cricket-crazy, and I really just want to experience the vibe there," he said. Morris is currently nursing a niggle but hopes to be fit soon. "That quad injury was a real eye opener for me. I realised how quickly things can change in a career," he said. "I`ve been working hard with the physiotherapist on my rehab processes and on getting my body right, and at the moment I am feeling good and ready to play," he added. PTI