"Cannot wait to get to Eden Gardens": Mitchell Starc after historic IPL bid
Dec 19, 2023
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], December 19 : Australian pacer Mitchell Starc expressed excitement for joining Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) next year.
Starc became the most expensive player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 24.75 crore at the auction in Dubai on Tuesday.
"Hey KKR fans, I am thrilled to be joining the team for this year's IPL. I cannot wait to get to Eden Gardens, to experience the home crowd, fans and atmosphere. Ami KKR!," said Starc in a video by KKR.
https://twitter.com/KKRiders/status/1737079284492103841
Starc has now left behind his skipper Pat Cummins, who was earlier the most expensive player in IPL history with Rs 20.50 crore and was sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad just a few hours back.
The pacer started an insane bidding war that lasted for minutes, with Mumbai Indians (MI) and Delhi Capitals (DC) locking horns first. Once they backed out, Gujarat Titans and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) went ahead with an even bigger bidding war, crossing the Rs 20.50 crore spent by SRH on Cummins. Eventually, GT backed out at Rs 24.75 crore and KKR got Starc for a record-breaking prize.
Starc made his return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction after years, having last played in 2015. He has taken 73 wickets in 58 T20Is and is a multi-time World Champion with Australia across all formats. With 647 international wickets in 262 matches, he is among the best fast bowlers of the modern era.
In his IPL career, Starc has 34 wickets to his name in 27 matches he played for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) from 2014-15.
Earlier, Cummins broke the roof as he became the costliest player in the history of the Indian Premier League when he was acquired by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for Rs 20.50 crore on Tuesday at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.
