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IPL
Morne Morkel recently acknowledged that IPL helped in erasing the tension between the South African and Australian teams. There has always been an unknown tension in the air whenever South Africa played against England or Australia. But IPL helped in making the teams more amicable with each other.
Former Proteas fast bowler, Morne Morkel, had been a part of IPL before. He represented teams like DC, RR, and KKR in the Indian Premier League(IPL). Morkel was part of KKR when the team won IPL 2014 under Gautam Gambhir’s captaincy.
In an interaction on a YouTube channel, Morkel recalled the time he played in THE IPL with different franchises. It was then that he stated that one of the best things about IPL is that it improved the relationship between players of different nations. The biggest example was the resolution of differences between Australia and the South African players. He recalled when one year the African team played against Australia and travel backed to the hotel in the same bus. It would have been an unimaginable situation before IPL. Morkel stated that it proves the quality and power of the league that united players from all the nations.
Incidentally, Morne Morkel moved to Australia in 2018, after retiring from international cricket. He became a permanent resident of Australia in November 2020. Soon after that, he was selected by Brisbane Heat as a local player for Big Bash League 2020.
Morkel felt weird to sit with a whiskey in hand at 5 AM in IPL after parties
Morkel commented about IPL after-parties that usually carried on till the wee hours of the morning. According to him, it was both bizarre and incredible at once. The after-parties were like sponsored functions that the players had to attend after the games. Although the international players are not forced, they need to make an appearance. Some of the after-parties are held underground and one can easily lose track of time there. Overall, Morkel described it as an incredible experience to attend those functions and know players across the world.
Before retirement, Morkel had claimed 77 wickets in the IPL from the 70 matches he played. He maintained a strike rate of 21.15 and an economy of 7.69.