Mitchell Starc cost KKR a lot of money in the IPL auction. Aakash Chopra thinks this may have hurt KKR a little. They bought Starc even though he was very expensive.
The team from Kolkata entered the auction with a balance of ₹32.70 crore. They used ₹24.75 crore for Starc and acquired nine other players for an overall cost of ₹6.60 crore.
Chopra, sharing his thoughts through a YouTube video, noticed that KKR pursued Starc, even considering their past unpleasant interaction. He clarified:
“Kolkata ran after Mitchell Starc. I felt it might be a little heartburn because they had kept him earlier and he didn’t come and they were at a loss.
“Kolkata was the team that got hurt when Mitchell Starc said he wouldn’t come because they had built their strategy around the four overseas players and one of them didn’t come.”
Aakash Chopra
The former opener for India continued, saying that it was evident that KKR was desperate to get the Australian seamer because they spent over 75% of their remaining budget on him:
“However, now they have spent 24.75 crores on him. They had close to 32 crore rupees, but to give 25 out of 32 to one player – it was incredible. It shows how much they wanted Mitchell Starc.”
Aakash Chopra
At the auction, the Delhi Capitals and the Mumbai Indians engaged in a bidding battle for Starc. They were replaced by the Gujarat Titans and the Kolkata Knight Riders, and the Titans decided to withdraw after the price reached ₹24.75 crore.
“They had only two Indian fast bowlers” – Aakash Chopra on why KKR went after Mitchell Starc
Aakash Chopra noted that the Kolkata Knight Riders lost out on the opportunity to get Dilshan Madushanka because to their expensive acquisition of Mitchell Starc.
“To be fair, they had only two Indian fast bowlers, Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana, before the auction. Andre Russell – his bowling has been 50-50. So they needed a bowler but a 25-crore bowler – wow.
“The loss after taking a 25-crore bowler is that Gautam (Gambhir) likes Madushanka a lot, but they couldn’t get him.”
Aakash Chopra
According to the former cricket player turned broadcaster, KKR acquired Sherfane Rutherford and Mujeeb Ur Rahman as backups for Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, respectively. He clarified:
“As they had released all fast bowlers, they bought Chetan Sakariya and Gus Atkinson. Then they bought Mujeeb Ur Rahman. I think he is a backup for Sunil Narine.
“They were going for Rovman Powell earlier, but since they couldn’t get him, they picked Sherfane Rutherford later. They are trying him as a backup for Russell.”
Aakash Chopra
At the auction, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (₹2 crore) was the second most expensive purchase made by KKR. The only other player to cost the two-time winners more than a crore was Sherfane Rutherford, who they acquired for ₹1.50 crore.