Agarwal makes ex-Bishop Cotton School students in the UAE proud and how Chris Morris used IPL money to pay off his parents' mortgage

By K.R. Nayar

 My IPL diary on Mayank Agarwal and Chris Morris

Kings XI Punjab’s Mayank Agarwal performance on Thursday that fetched him the Player of the Match award against Royal Challengers Bangalore has made those in the UAE from Bangalore's Bishop Cotton Boys' School proud. Agarwal is a product of that school, and those from that school call themselves 'Cottonians'. Brijesh Patel, Chairman of the IPL, is also a Cottonian. Among the great cricketers who are a product of that school is England’s legendary batsman Colin Cowdrey, who became the first cricketer to play 100 Test matches. Indian footballer Eugeneson Lyngdoh, who plays as a midfielder for East Bengal, is also from this school.  Agarwal is said to have picked the brains of Indian greats like Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid.  He was even talked about as the next Sehwag and has taken a lot of tips from him, but it was Dravid who helped him focus his mind on the game after he got dropped from the Karnataka’s first-class team in 2014 due to indifferent form.

 IPL money had surprised Morris

Royal Challengers allrounder Chris Morris, who gave his team a good total through a breezy unbeaten 25 runs in eight balls, has been candid about his feelings on the money he would earn from the IPL. When in the 2013 IPL auction he was bought by Chennai Super Kings for $650,000, he said he had never seen so much money! This South African allrounder then got signed up in 2016 by Delhi Daredevils for $1 million. He is the son of Willie Morris, who played first-class cricket for Northern Transvaal between 1980 and 1992. He used the money he earned from IPL to pay off his parents’ mortgage and then built a house for himself. His father was also an allrounder who bowled slow left-arm spin. Morris, like his father, also went on to take a hat-trick in domestic cricket.