IPL 2024 Auction: "Mitchell Starc Was A Preferred Player .."- KKR CEO Reveals Reason For Going All In For The Australian Pacer

Australian pacer Mitchell Starc became the most expensive purchase in the history of the IPL auction after Kolkata Knight Riders bought him for a whopping Rs 24.75 crore in the auction. The team’s CEO Venky Mysore justified the huge price tag for the left-arm quick, saying that the Australian speedster ‘was a preferred player from the skill-set standpoint’.

Australian skipper Pat Cummins was bought for a massive Rs20.50 crores by Sunrisers Hyderabad breaking the barrier of 20 crores. However, Mitchell Starc whose name came not long after Cummins stole the show in the IPL Auction. Starc was raked in by Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping 24.75 crores. Mysore reckons that the unsuccessful bids by KKR before Mitchell Starc helped them pull this off.

“Obviously he (Strac) was a preferred player from a skill set standpoint. Initially, we were not successful in some of the bids. Maybe that worked in our favor because we did end up having money to do this. So we’re just thankful that we were able to have him on our side,” Mysore said.

On being asked about spending such a huge amount on one player, Venky Mysore said that it is a matter of perspective. He revealed that every team has to spend nearly 100 crores and they have the choice to themselves as to how they want to slice it. Ultimately, every team spends the same amount of money. He also says that Starc is a fabulous player.

KKR And GT Entered An Intense Bidding War For Mitchell Starc

“It shows the value of the player and the skill set he (Starc) possesses. He’s a fabulous player. Now it seems like wow, Rs 24.75. I was telling someone that the salary cap of a team when IPL started in 2008 was Rs 20 crore. So things have changed. When the auction is over, all the 10 teams are going to walk out having spent 100 crores and each team decides to slice it differently,” he said.

“So what you’ve paid to somebody … is a matter of perspective. Ultimately, we’re all spending the same amount of money. When you plan your team, from a retention standpoint, with the auction far away, you’ve no idea of who are the players being released from other teams, trades happening, and all that. So it’s a very dynamic environment.”

Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans got into an intense bidding war for Mitchell Starc which resulted in the former acquiring the services of Australia’s premier left-arm pacer. Gujarat Titans bought Spencer Johnson later for Rs 10 crore to make up for losing Starc. Johnson is also an Australian left-arm quick who can swing the ball early on and stands tall at 6 ft 4 in.

Kolkata Knight Riders finished seventh on the points table in IPL 2023. However, the team was fairly young and inexperienced but still, they performed very well in some of the matches. They will hope for a better season this time as Shreyas Iyer is back as their skipper after missing out on the 2023 season due to an injury. Also, players like Mitchell Starc, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, and Jason Roy will enhance the squad.