Mitchell Starc’s Impact Elusive for Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders are halfway through their Indian Premier League campaign, and the wait for Mitchell Starc’s impact continues. Despite being picked up at an exorbitant price tag of Rs 24.74 crore, the Australian pacer has failed to live up to expectations.

Starc’s struggles were evident in the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday. Bowling the last over, he conceded 21 runs and only managed to defend the total thanks to a low reflex return catch off Karn Sharma. His overall tournament statistics are also underwhelming: he has played in all seven KKR matches, giving away 287 runs for his six wickets. His economical rate of over 11 does not do justice to his reputation.

KKR pacer Harshit Rana suggested that Starc may need to adjust his pace to succeed on Indian wickets. “The ball is coming nicely on to the bat and it is easy to hit,” said Rana. “He is a great bowler and will definitely come good at some stage in this tournament,” Rana added.

KKR CEO Venky Mysore has also expressed confidence in Starc, calling him a “superstar” who adds value to the team. “We don’t think of it from an investment standpoint. We just felt that an addition to the team like Mitchell Starc would add a lot of value, which it has,” said Mysore.

However, concerns remain about Starc’s ability to fulfill the death-bowling role that KKR acquired him for. With non-regular batters like Karn Sharma and Will Jacks scoring runs with ease against him, Starc’s confidence could take a beating before the important T20 World Cup.

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