Why Mitchell Starc Was A Hot Pick For IPL Franchises? Know Here

Minutes after Australian skipper Pat Cummins grabbed a whooping Rs 20 crore deal from the Sunrisers Hyderabad, speedster Mitchell Starc broke his record with a gobsmacking Rs 24.75 crore offer from the Kolkata Knight Riders. This will be the left-arm pacer's second stint with an SRK-owned franchise that is a two-time IPL champion. Starc was part of Kolkata Knight Riders back in 2015 and later moved to Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Starc was always expected to be one of the biggest buys that broke the banks. It was a multi-sided tug of war between the franchise owners as Starc received offers from as many as five teams the moment his name was announced for the bidding in Dubai's Coca-Cola arena. The bidding for Mitchell Starc started from Rs 2 crore (base price) which shot up quickly after the Delhi Capitals and the Mumbai Indians were engaged in a bidding war before DC unfolded at Rs 9.4 crore.

But Akash Ambani's happiness was short-lived as Gujarat Titans jumped in after the amount crossed the Rs 10 crore mark. Later, Kolkata Knight Riders joined the fray. The confidence and excitement of investment in a worthy player were visible on the faces of team owners, mentors, and business managers. But it was Gambhir's KKR that outclassed every bid made by the rest of the franchises to get Mitchell Starc.

Why Mitchell Starc Was A Hot Pick?

The left-arm fast bowler, Mitchell Starc, performed brilliantly in the recently concluded World Test Championship, followed by the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.

Starc has represented Australia in 83 tests and dismissed 338 batsmen, while in One Day cricket, he knocked 236 batsmen in 121 appearances. Talking about the shortest format, Starc has played 58 matches and managed to pick 73 wickets.

In the IPL, he has played only 27 matches and bagged 34 wickets. Starc was away from India's domestic league due to injury in recent years, but it will be interesting to see how he proves his worth this year.