Visakhapatnam, April 4: On his day, he can ruin any world-class batting line-up. When in rhythm, Australian ace pacer Mitchell Starc is a real threat for any opposition. There cannot be any second opinion about that. Because his credentials, skills and match-winning potentials are no secrets.
In the Indian Premier League (IPL) previous editions, during his association with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), he dazzled in patches. He even missed a few important encounters due to varied reasons. But even then he has proved his class.
But this season, he was hired by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), a side which had his Australian teammate, captain and new-ball partner Pat Cummins. KKR hired Starc for a whopping Rs 24.5 crore this season.
With Cummins joining Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2024 and doing well with both bat and ball, KKR would have expected Starc to replicate his lethal bowling skills for them.
But Mitchell Starc, the left-arm swing master has been bit off-colour so far. However, with his experience and expertise, Starc can bounce back to form and win games for his franchise at any moment, that even KKR team management and fans would be very much aware.
Despite Starc not firing with his full potentials, KKR have however, won all their three matches and are at the top of the Points Table now.
After KKR posted a massive106 runs victory against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday, Starc stated that despite his personal performance not been very impressive so far, his team is on a roll.
Worth mentioning that Starc had figures of 2/25 against Delhi on a winning cause. Before the Delhi match, Starc in two matches gave away 100 runs in 8 overs, without any dismissal against his name. Obviously, two wickets in three matches is not something neither Starc nor his fans can be proud of.
But since IPL is a long tournament, Mitchell Starc, the fearsome fast bowler can surely regain his old touch and play a bigger role in KKR's campaign this season.
Who knows, on Monday, when KKR play Chennai Super Kings in MA Chidambaram Stadium, Mitchell Starc may once again prove to the cricketing world why he is rated so high. His return to form may be a great news for KKR, but Ruturaj Gaikwad led CSK would definitely not enjoy that.
