‘Especially at that price’: West Indies tear up KKR’s Rs 24.75 crore buy of Mitchell Starc | Cricket News

Kolkata Knight Riders star pacer Mitchell Starc is having a forgettable Indian Premier League season. The left-arm pacer has secured his services at a huge cost ahead of IPL 2024. KKR acquired Starc for a record Rs 2,475 crore in an auction war. While the price attracted a lot of eyeballs, Starc failed to live up to expectations in KKR’s first six games of IPL 2024. KKR’s match against Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday night will be no different for Starc as he conceded 50 runs in IPL 2024. His four deliveries did not take any wickets.

Starc has taken just 5 wickets in the first six games of IPL 2024 while conceding at a 10.54 rate. Starc has remained scoreless in four of the six games.

Former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop criticized the pacers for failing to live up to expectations.

“I think Mitchell Starc, especially at this price, hasn’t really hit the mark. He got three wickets in the last game but tonight (Tuesday) he’s looking to step up again. Having an end, when you need a six, he’s going to go deep, and I think it’s a good plan, and then you talk about backing yourself – and of course the five, and when he has the ball Short ball that’s going to get hooked. No one’s in square one and not sticking out wide for Butler to get the ball over there, so yeah, like I said… it’s the little things,” Bishop said on ESPNcricinfo said.

Meanwhile, former New Zealand star Mitchell McClenaghan, who played for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, feels that Starc is struggling to adapt to the defensive bowling style on the Indian circuit.

“Two pitches in a row, we’re talking about the first pitch. He was trying to throw a slower pitch, I think he was trying to throw a slower pitch. When you pitch in these pressure situations, the first pitch It’s a good motivation for the batsmen and it creates chaos not only in your mind but also in the captain’s mind because IPL is a different beast compared to international cricket. The pitch is much smaller than that and I think he is learning to defend more on the Indian pitch.”