Australian left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc will return to the IPL after a gap of eight years after being signed by Kolkata Knight Riders. For Rs 24.75 crore in the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai on Tuesday. He also became the most expensive player in IPL history, surpassing his Australian captain Pat Cummins, who was signed by SRH for Rs 20.5 crore earlier in the day.
Starc will aim to use this tournament as preparation for the T20 World Cup in June. His base price was Rs 2 crore.
The Mumbai Indians and Delhi captains started a bidding war for Starc, with Rishabh Pant picking up the paddle on Delhi's table. DC pulled out at Rs 9.6 crore and Kolkata Knight Riders entered the field. After this, MI got out for 9.8 crores due to Gujarat Titans jumping in.
What happened next left everyone present in the auction room stunned. GT and KKR, both searching for front-runners overseas, engaged in a fierce bidding war and did not back down, leaving the cash registers reeling.
Starc last featured in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore after their inaugural season in 2015. He took 20 wickets in 13 matches that year at an average of 14.55 and an economy rate of 6.76.
But since 2015, due to various reasons including injuries, the left-arm fast bowler has not been a part of the tournament. Starc was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders in 2018 for Rs. Rs 9.40 crore before being ruled out due to injury.
For Australia, Starc last featured in a T20 match more than a year ago during the T20 World Cup. Starc has taken 73 wickets in 58 matches at an average of 22.91.
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