Mitchell Starc becomes the most expensive player in IPL history
Veteran Australian pacer Mitchell Starc is set to end his nine-year hiatus from the Indian Premier League (IPL). Starc has been acquired by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs. 24.75 crore in the IPL 2024 auction. He hence has become the costliest buy in IPL history. Notably, Starc last played an IPL match in 2015. Here are further details.
Starc goes past Cuminns
As mentioned, Starc is now the most expensive player in the history of the competition. He went past his Australian teammate Pat Cummins, who fetched Rs. 20.5 crore from Sunrisers Hyderabad earlier in the event. Meanwhile, England all-rounder Sam Curran, who fetched Rs. 18.5 crore from Punjab Kings (PBKS) last year, was the most expensive buy in IPL history before this year's auction event.
Four teams went after Starc
Starc's bidding started with the battle between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals. However, both teams stepped back after the bidding went past Rs. 9.6 crore. The fight was then between KKR and Gujarat Titans as both teams seemed keen to get the speedster on board. KKR eventually walked away with his services, having shelved almost 75 percent of their available purse.
The return of Starc
With IPL being arguably the most celebrated franchise T20 competition across the globe, many players dream of being a part of the event. Starc, one the finest white-ball bowlers going around, has been ditching lucrative IPL contracts to stay fit for national assignments. However, the upcoming IPL season will help him prepare for the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup.
A look at his IPL career
Starc has so far played 27 IPL games, all for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), between 2014 and 2015. He has returned with 34 wickets at 20.38 (ER: 7.17). 4/15 are his best figures. Notably, Starc had registered for the 2018 IPL auction and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bought him for a whopping Rs. 9.4 crore. He withdrew from that season due to fitness issues.
Here are his T20 and international stats
Starc has been pretty impressive in T20 cricket. So far, he has taken 170 wickets in 121 games at an economy of 7.45 (4W: 2). 73 of these wickets have come in 58 T20Is for the Aussies (ER: 7.63). Starc also owns 338 wickets from 83 Tests and 236 wickets from 121 ODIs. The 33-year-old owns 23 five-wicket hauls at the international level.
