IPL’s most expensive player Mitchell Starc, who has come under scrutiny due to his poor performances in the current season, on Monday got the support of Kolkata Knight Riders managing director and CEO Venky Mysore, who said he was interested in him from an “investment point of view”. Don’t think. KKR bought Starc for a record Rs 24.75 crore, but it always came with a caveat as the Australian left-arm pacer had limited experience in the shortest format and was returning to the IPL after nine years. “He is a superstar and he is a quality player,” Mysore said on the sidelines of a night golf event at the RCGC here.

“We don’t think of it from an investment point of view, because you go to the auction and there are things in the auction, which is not in the player’s hands, nor is it in anyone else’s hands.

“We felt that adding someone like Mitchell Starc to the team would add a lot of value, which it has. I mean, his presence in the lineup just adds a different dynamic to the team, and the support staff had specific skills we were looking for. So, we think we have that.” Starc’s weakness in the T20 format was exposed when he conceded 100 runs without taking any wickets in his eight overs in the first two matches.

Things turned from bad to worse on Sunday when he scored 54 off 16 balls at the Eden Gardens and in the final over, RCB’s No. 9 Karn Sharma, batting low, hit three sixes in his four balls.

However, Starc managed to save some honor by taking a low return catch to dismiss Karn, ultimately leading to a dramatic victory by one run.

“A lot of times games are up and down. Everybody gets taken to the cleaners a lot of times, and a lot of times they come in and do their job and win games for the team. So we’re really excited to have him in the setup.” Happy,” Mysore said.

KKR, which are in second place with five wins from seven matches till the half-time, looks to be a changed team under the leadership of mentor and two-time title-winning former captain Gautam Gambhir.

Gambhir, who last represented the team in 2017, returned to his former franchise as team mentor this season, leaving the same position at Lucknow Super Giants.

Mysore said that Gambhir has added a lot of ‘weight’ to the team.

“I think the consistency that has been shown, I think we look like a more balanced and settled team this year. Needless to say, Gautam (Gambhir) coming in has absolutely added that intensity and experience. There is a lot of weight gain that he brings.

“The winning attitude, I mean, both he and Chandu (head coach Chandrakant Pandit) are very, very determined and very desperate to win.

“They have a great support staff. So, I think sometimes all these things have to come together. It’s very difficult to point to one thing and say, this is what made the difference. But where we are right now Very happy with that, so fingers crossed,” Mysore told PTI.

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