Former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop has slammed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Mitchell Starc for his extremely poor bowling in his team’s recent loss to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the ongoing IPL 2024.
Starc became the costliest player in IPL history when KKR splurged INR 24.75 Cr on him in the IPL 2024 auction. This meant that Starc would be playing in the Indian Premier League after 8 long years. His last outing was in IPL 2016 when he turned out for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
However, Starc has had a rough time playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders so far. He has picked 5 wickets in 6 games for the two-time champions, giving away 232 runs. Starc allowed 0/50, including an 18-run 18th over to assist the Royals score 224.
With the left-arm pacer failing, Ian Bishop believes Starc has failed to live up to both the price tag and his reputation as one of the best modern-day pacers of all time.
“I would assume that Mitchell Starc, especially at that price, hasn’t 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 the square. Instead of sticking with the wides, he moved back. So yeah, like I said… it’s the little things,” Bishop said on ESPNCricinfo.
Starc has leaked 53 and 47 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru respectively, going wicketless in both games.
“IPL is a different beast”- Mitchell McClenaghan sympathizes with Mitchell Starc’s poor run
Former New Zealand left-arm quick Mitchell McClenaghan, who commented on Mitchell Starc’s poor run, says that while Mitchell Starc is one of the finest in the world, he is also discovering how tough 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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