I believe Mitchell Starc hasn’t really achieved the mark, particularly for that price: Ian Bishop

Tuesday, April 16, saw the Kolkata Knight Riders lose a high-scoring thriller at the Eden Gardens. Mitchell Starc failed to capitalize on his three-for against the Lucknow Super Giants, giving up 50 runs in four overs and going wicketless against the Rajasthan Royals.

When Starc decided to rejoin the Indian Premier League (IPL) in December 2023, it sparked an eight-year hiatus and a bidding war. Following a fierce bidding battle, the Australian pacer’s services were acquired by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for an incredible INR 24.75 crore. Because of this, he became the highest-paid player in IPL history. But the burden of expectations is also attached to expensive prices. The lucky bowler hasn’t been able to live up to the hype thus far, giving up 232 runs from 132 balls in six games at an economy rate of 10.55 and an average of 46.40.

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With three of those wickets coming during KKR’s match against the Lucknow Super Giants, the left-arm speedster has only claimed five. On Tuesday, April 16, though, Starc was relatively ordinary, as the Royals needed two wickets to take down a 224-run mark off the final ball. Starc paid a heavy price in the 18th over, giving up 18 runs to pull Rajasthan within striking distance of their target, Ian Bishop observed, departing from his original strategy to bowl wide yorkers.

Mitchell Starc hasn’t exactly struck the mark, in my opinion, especially at that price.

In the last game, he claimed three wickets; nonetheless, he would have expected to perform better tonight. In one instance in particular, he was going wide, wide, wide. I think it’s an excellent approach for when you need sixes. You mention backing yourself later. Naturally, there were five wides and the short ball that he was hooked on when no one was at the square. He retreated rather than continuing with the wides. Bishop stated on ESPNcricinfo, “So yeah, like I said, it’s the little things.”

In four of his six IPL 2024 appearances, Starc has failed to pick up a wicket. As the competition quickly approaches the halfway point, KKR supporters will expect the 34-year-old to step up his game.