Mitchell Starc set to return to IPL after nine years
Veteran Australian pacer Mitchell Starc is set to end his nine-year hiatus from the Indian Premier League (IPL). The fast bowler has confirmed that he will register for the 2024 IPL mini-auction as it will help him prepare for next year's ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA. Starc last played an IPL match in 2015. Here are further details.
Why does this story matter?
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. A mini-auction will take place for IPL 2024 and Starc is likely to go big under the hammer.
What did Starc say?
"I'm definitely going back in (next) year. It's a great lead up to the T20 World Cup," Starc told the Willow Talk cricket podcast. "So a good opportunity to see if anyone's interested in the IPL". "And it's somewhat of a quiet winter next year ... in comparison to this winter, so I think a perfect opportunity to put my name in."
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 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 333 wickets from 82 Tests and 219 wickets from 110 ODIs. The 33-year-old owns 21 five-wicket hauls at the international level.
