Ricky Ponting the former Australian captain opines that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Mitchell Starc seemed to be striving too hard in the early stages of the IPL 2024 season due to his massive price tag. Starc was purchased by KKR in the IPL 2024 auction for an enormous INR 24.75 crore.
Ricky Ponting feels the large money made Mitchell Starc more cautious about wanting to offer his best, and as a result, the left-arm pacer had more time to acclimate to the league he was returning to after nine years.
Ricky Ponting told the ICC that Eden Gardens’ reputation as a batter’s paradise worked against Mitchell Starc as well. He said:
“The expectation that comes with the price tag sometimes it makes players push out a little bit harder and try to do more than they need to do. You know, conditions where Mitch is bowling at Eden Gardens, the ball didn’t really swing much there this year, and the ground is like, like it’s a small ground, and the outfield’s like concrete.”
Ricky Ponting
Ponting believes that with the T20 World Cup being played in the Caribbean, where the ball may not come off the bat as well as it did at Eden Gardens, Mitchell Starc will have a greater influence.
Mitchell Starc reflects on his thrilling return to IPL 2024
Despite a poor start to the competition, Mitchell Starc peaked at the appropriate time for the Knight Riders, winning Player of the Match in both Qualifier 1 (3/34) and the Final (2/14), demonstrating his big-match pedigree once more.
Mitchell Starc spoke to media at a news conference after KKR defeated SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final, discussing his future in both international and franchise cricket. He said:
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this season It’s been great, it leads into the World Cup, that’s the other side of the benefit of being here against some amazing players in an amazing tournament. It’s a great lead-up to a World Cup. Next year – I don’t know the schedule exactly – but I’ve enjoyed it, I look forward to being back next year and hopefully be seen in purple and gold [KKR’s colors] again.”
Mitchell Starc
Mitchell Starc also intimated that, as he approaches his late thirties, he may have to retire from one of the forms of international cricket. That format might be ODIs, with the next 50-over World Cup scheduled for 2027.