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Aakash Chopra provided insights on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) acquisition of Mitchell Starc at a record-breaking price in the IPL 2024 auction. According to Chopra, the Kolkata franchise may have experienced some discomfort when securing Mitchell Starc in the auction.
Mitchell Starc made headlines as the most expensive player in the history of the IPL auction. KKR obtained the left-arm pacer for a total of Rs 24.75 crore, despite having a purse of Rs 32.70 crore. They spent Rs 6.6 crore to purchase nine other players.
The franchise made a significant investment of Rs 9.40 crore to sign Starc for the 2018 season. However, he was unable to participate in the season due to a right leg injury, impacting the team’s strategy. English speedster Tom Curran replaced him in the KKR squad.
It Might Be A Little Heartburn – Aakash Chopra
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra highlighted the Kolkata Knight Riders’ strong desire for the Australian pacer, Mitchell Starc, despite not playing them in the 2018 edition of the tournament.
“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,” Chopra said.
“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.”
“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,” he added.
Mitchell Starc’s last appearance in the tournament was in 2015, representing the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The fast bowler played for the Bangalore franchise in two seasons, picking up 34 wickets from 27 matches at an impressive economy rate of 7.17.
They Had Only Two Indian Fast Bowlers – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra noted that the Knight Riders missed the opportunity to acquire Dilshan Madushanka due to the significant investment in Mitchell Starc. He highlighted the limited fast bowlers in the squad before the auction.
“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,” he further stated.
Trying Him As A Backup For Andre Russell – Aakash Chopra
The former Indian opener suggested that two-time IPL champions acquired Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Sherfane Rutherford as backups for Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, respectively.
“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,” Chopra concluded.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman emerged as the team’s second-most expensive acquisition at the auction, with a price tag of Rs 2 crore. Sherfane Rutherford was the only other player to surpass the one crore mark for the franchise, securing a deal worth Rs 1.50 crore.
Also read: IPL 2024 Auction: ‘Hardik Pandya Is Not A Finished Product As Captain’ – Aakash Chopra
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