However, Starc bounced back, claiming 4-33 in KKR’s 24-run win over Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday
Mitchell Starc. Pic/PTI
IPL’s most expensive player—Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Mitchell Starc (Rs 24.75 crore)—was enduring a tough time in this edition.
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However, Starc bounced back, claiming 4-33 in KKR’s 24-run win over Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday.
Though the Impact Player rule is helping teams post big totals in the ongoing IPL, Starc stressed it won’t be the same during the T20 World Cup to be played in USA and West Indies next month. “There’s no Impact Player rule [in international cricket], so whether that affects the scores is yet to be seen. I think it probably will.
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People talk about the balance of the team when you can’t just bring someone in. Your all-rounders come back into play [during the T20 World Cup]. Captains have to think a bit tactically too when you have just 11 players. It’s [the Impact Player rule] been interesting to experience it first-hand in the IPL,” Starc said during the post-match press conference on Friday night.
When asked about IPL price tag pressure, Starc said: “I didn’t set my price tag, so it is what it is.”
The left-arm pacer with 11 scalps from nine IPL games this season, seems to have got the rhythm he is known for. He revealed how he acclimatised to the two-paced Wankhede pitch to trouble the MI batsmen: “I haven’t changed too much. It’s about assessing conditions after the first innings. We certainly spoke about it [the pitch] and the batters that came off throughout that first innings mentioned the wicket and the lengths that were the hardest to face. That created the bowling plans for us.
“T20 cricket doesn’t always go the way you want it to go. Of course, I wanted to go a bit better at the start, but I am not the only bowler going for runs. It is what it is. The fact is that we sit second and are building towards the more important games at the back end and are playing some good cricket. Hopefully, I can be a part of it too,” Starc emphasised.