Knights find their number one

Mitchell Starcrsquos dexterity over the new and old ball was pivotal in Australia lifting their sixth World Cup crown earlier last month On Tuesday it was also pivotal in boosting his bank balance So much so that the threetime World Cup veteran described his incredulity at watching his own price shoot up and up at the IPL auctionldquoIt was a shock of course Nothing I could have dreamt of But no doubt there will be some pressure that comes with the territory But having the extra experience I have from my last IPL hopefully helps Starc told Jio CinemaAlso ReadOxfordrsquos Arhaam shines in 126run win over SVISHis new franchise Kolkata Knight Riders KKR also seemed motivated as much by scepticism as faith in the money they put on him After all their winning bid for the Australian quick in 2018 bore no fruit after he missed the season due to a fracture of his right tibial bone After sparking an intense biddingbattle among top IPL franchises at a swish multipurpose venue in Dubai on Tuesday Australiarsquos beloved lsquoStarcyrsquo went back home Rs 15 crore richer five years later and rather unfathomably with his reputation as one of his sidersquos marquee matchwinners intactMitchell Starc is thrilledIPL2024AuctionpictwittercomU257IiDNwOmdash KnightRidersXtra KRxtra December 19 2023In fact his IPL 2024 salary cap surpassed Sam Curranrsquos from last year when Punjab Kings splashed out an exorbitant amount of INR 1850 cr for the capricious allrounder With the 33yearold Starc hitting redhot form with the ball and Kolkata lapping him up for a record deal the happiness in the KKR cavern knew no bounds Their mentor Gautam Gambhir unable to contain his palpable joy had his smile touching the corners of his mouth and playing in the laugh lines beside his eyesAlso ReadMoreover the upcoming edition will bear more significance than ever with the T20 World Cup lurking around the corner With the roadmap for next yearrsquos World Cup being underway around the same time players will strive to be at their finest to make the most of the 20over contests in the cashrich leagueOn a day that quickly established itself as the most lucrative on the cricket calendar Starcrsquos teammate and Australiarsquos Test and ODI skipper Pat Cummins fetched an equally handsome INR 2005 cr from Sunrisers Hyderabad which comes to a whopping INR 4480 cr when combined together with Starcrsquos payout Notably this amount is only INR 2 cr lesser than the entire prize purse for teams in the leaguersquos last edition The total purse for teams in IPL 2023 was INR 4650 cr with the winning team likely to have won INR 20 cr while the runnersup received INR 13 cr according to a Sportstar report The thirdplaced team received INR 7 cr while the team in fourth place were paid INR 65 crBut is the big paycheck a just commitment or an outcome of strategic planningldquoThis was of course a decision backed by the officials and other staff including Gautam With him back in the purple colours we are expecting to take the contest by storm this IPL And what can I say about Starcy He is a complete asset and we needed to strengthen our pace In times of crisis the team can rely on this one man to win the match due to his varied experience Not just Starcy look at Patty Pat Cummins he was a core member of our team in the past pretty amazing stuff going back in there He is with Hyderabad now fans have high hopes on these two Interesting to see how this edition turns out sicrdquo a source privy to developments at KKR told MidDay Those able to handle death overs that is at least 120150 balls bowled between 18 and 20 overs to be specific are always looked on with favour And this is where both Cummins and Starc play a crucial roleIPLAuction Recap Our Knight Out in Dubai VenkyMysore abhisheknayar1 GautamGambhir ChandrakantPandit pictwittercomoLx77rBTRqmdash KolkataKnightRiders KKRiders December 20 2023At 33 Starcrsquos tearaway pace remains a big threat to many a batsman around the world in whiteball formats His overall economy of 763 across 58 matches in the 20overs format is enough to justify his potency Capable of generating enormous swing with the new or old ball Starcrsquos ability to help hold an inning at deadly pace makes him a cut above the rest The Gambhirheaded side will bank on him to get their mojo back in this edition thus overcoming two seasons of mediocrityKKR have done their bit by sparing no expense it is now up to lsquoStarcyrsquo to prove them right