Former England captain Kevin Pietersen is not one to mince words and it was no different when he was quite candid in stating that all-rounder Chris Morris, who hails from Pietersen's country of origin, South Africa, was not worth the Rs. 16.25 crore paid for him by Rajasthan Royals at the IPL 2021 Players Auction. "This is going to sound harsh, but he (Morris) went for a lot more money than I would have ever paid for, to be completely honest," Pietersen said during a TV show.
"I just don't think that he's worth that kind of number. I think there's pressure on him," Pietersen said while speaking exclusively on the Star Sports Live Feed Select Dugout.
"He's not a first choice for the South African side. So, I think we're expecting too much, Pietersen added.
"There's too much talked about him. I don't think he's the kind of guy that's going to consistently deliver.
"I mean this with the greatest deal of respect. There's nothing special about what he does, and if he does run-in, he'll run-in for two games. And then he'll go missing for a few games and it's not the kind of thing that you should be seeing. He has the attributes," Pietersen added.
Morris has so far scored 48 runs from four matches at a strike rate of 154.83, with a match-winning 36 not out off 18 balls against Delhi Capitals in RR's only win.
With the ball, the South African has claimed five wickets from the same number of matches with an economy of 9.92 and a best of 2/33.