Five wickets for 232 runs in six matches. That’s what the bowling figures of Mitchell Starc, the costliest IPL player of all time, looks like. The left-arm quick, returning to play the Indian Premier League for the first time in eight years, has had a rough time playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders thus far. Bought for a gobsmacking price tag of INR 24.75 crore, Starc, one of the best fast bowlers in the world, has leaked runs profusely, cutting a sorry figure in yesterday’s contest against the Rajasthan Royals.
Starc conceded 0/50 – including an 18-run 18th over that helped the Royals gunning down 224. With the left-arm pacer struggling, Ian Bishop feels Starc has not lived up to not only the price tag but also his reputation of being one of the greatest modern-day pacers of all time.
“I would assume that Mitchell Starc, especially at that price, hasn’t really hit the nail on its head. He got three wickets last game but tonight again he would have been hoping to step up. There was this one over, where he was going wide, wide, wide. When you need sixes, I think it’s a good plan. Then you talk about backing yourself – of course there was that five wides, and the short ball which he got hooked for when there was nobody at square. Instead of sticking with the wides, he moved back. So yeah, like I said… it’s the little things,” Bishop said on ESPNCricinfo.
Last evening wasn’t the first time Starc bled runs. He leaked 53 and 47 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru respectively, going wicketless in both games. His only decent outing, as Bishop mentioned, came against Lucknow Super Giants where Starc grabbed 3/28. However, the fact that he has failed to pick up even a single wicket in four matches out of the six KKR have played promises to ring alarm bells. Starc had previously received backing from KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir, but six matches in, one would believe that a decisive call is incoming as pretty soon the season will start approaching its business end.
No end to Starc’s woes
Starc is known for attacking the wickets and nailing those fiery yorkers. But surprisingly enough, he has retorted to bowling wide yorkers in an attempt to contain the batters, a ploy one doesn’t expect from menacing Mitch. Former New Zealand left-arm quick Mitchell McClenaghan, who weighed in on these struggles, believes that while Starc is one of the best in the world, even he is learning just how harsh and competitive the IPL can be.
“Two overs in a row, we are talking about the first ball. He has tried to bowl the slower ball, and I think he is trying to bowl a wide slower ball. When you are bowling on these pitches, that first ball goes out of the park. And that is a good momentum-starter for the bowler. And it not only creates chaos in your mind, but in the captain’s mind too. He is also changing because the game is evolving. IPL is a different beast as compared to international. The grounds are so much smaller. Even mishits go for six. I think he is learning to bowl a lot more defensively on Indian grounds,” said McClenaghan.
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