IPL 2024 Auction: Watch - Mitchell Starc's Blockbuster Reaction After Being Sold To KKR For 24.75 Crores

It was an unforgettable afternoon for ace Australian pacer Mitchell Starc in the IPL 2024 auction as it was Kolkata Knight Riders who scripted his record-breaking return. Starc was picked up by KKR for a record fee of INR 24.75 crore and is now the most expensive player in the history of the cash-rich league.

Mitchell Starc will be returning to the Indian Premier League after eight years and last played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the year 2015. Starc has not had the best of the IPL career so far and has picked up 34 wickets from 27 matches of the cash-rich league.

Mitchell Starc’s first reaction after record IPL contract with KKR

Mitchell Starc was also excited about his return to Kolkata Knight Riders and shared a video message on social media. The message was reposted by KKR on their official ‘X’ handle.

Starc said in the video message, “Hey, KKR fans, I am thrilled to be joining the team for this year’s IPL and I can’t wait to get to the Eden Gardens to experience the home fans, the home crowd, and the atmosphere. Look forward to seeing you then. Ami KKR.”

Welcome back, record-breaker! ? pic.twitter.com/KwSZui8GBj

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) December 19, 2023

Mitchell Starc was roped in by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League 2018 mega auction for INR 9.40 crore. However, he had to miss the whole edition due to an injury and will be playing in one of the biggest cricket leagues in the world after eight years.

Mitchell Starc is an athletic pace bowler who has beautiful action and can bowl yorkers at will. He also has a brilliant bouncer and rattles the batsman with his pace. Despite being away from the Indian Premier League, Starc was performing well in international cricket and today is counted among the top bowlers of the world.

The Australian pacer picked up 16 wickets from 10 matches in the recently concluded 2023 ODI World Cup at an average of 33.00. Apart from a decent record in the CWC 2023, Starc has also picked up 73 wickets in the 58 T20I matches he has played for Australia. His best performance has been 4/20, whereas his economy has been 7.63.

However, before Mitchell Starc it was Australian captain Pat Cummins, who broke Sam Curran’s of being the most expensive player and was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 20.50 crore. The IPL 2024 auction has been very memorable for Kiwi players such as Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra, as they went to Chennai Super Kings for INR 14 crore and INR 1.80 crore respectively.

The Indian Premier League is a perfect platform for young cricketers to showcase their talent and make an impression on the world stage. Players such as Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Hardik Pandya are the outcome of the IPL and with the upcoming edition of the tournament all set to start at the end of March 2024, there can be some more young talent that can garner headlines and also become big names shortly.

The IPL 2024 is also expected to be the last of CSK skipper MS Dhoni, however, he is still to make an official confirmation of his availability