Mitchell Starc became the costliest player in the history of IPL when Kolkata Knight Riders bought the Australian in IPL 2024 auctions last December.
Kolkata: Former Kolkata Knight Riders captain and current team mentor, Gautam Gambhir, emphasized on team’s win over individual performances on Saturday, providing a cushion to under-fire pacer Mitchell Starc. The Australian, who became IPL’s costliest player during the auction last December at Rs 24.75 crore, so far has taken just two wickets in four matches in IPL 2024, leaking 11 runs per over.
Ahead of KKR’s second home game against Lucknow Super Giants, Starc found support in Gambhir, who said the left-arm pacer’s poor returns with the ball ‘doesn’t make him a bad bowler’. “It (his poor stats) doesn’t matter, T20 cricket is all about bowlers getting smashed,” Gambhir told reporters at Eden Gardens during the pre-match press conference.
“In a team sport, it’s the wins that matter. We have got three wins out of four. Why should I not be happy with anyone’s performance? See, people have bad and good days, ultimately, it’s the team that needs to win. And we’ve got decent results in the first four games of the competition. And we all know that how big a threat Mitchell Starc is. Four games don’t make him a bad bowler,” added the former India cricketer.
In the first two games against SRH and RCB, Starc conceded exact 100 runs without any success. He returned among the wickets in the third game against Delhi Capitals with a 2/25, thus helping KKR to a 106-run win. Against CSK, Starc once again went wicket-less in this three overs.
Gambhir, who is the only captain to lead KKR to two IPL titles, backed Starc to create an ‘impact’ as the tournament progresses. “And four good games don’t make him a brilliant bowler either. So I know that what impact he can create and what impact he will create in the competition.
“There’s no reason why you should talk about individual performance. I feel that Mitchell Starc has done reasonably okay. I think he’s bowled some tough overs. And he will create an impact, what he’s been picked for,” added the former left-hander.
Meanwhile, it will be emotional scenes as Gambhir will be meeting his old pals. For the unknown, Gambhir was LSG mentor for 2022 and 2023 seasons, guiding them to playoffs on both occasions. Interestingly, KKR were unable to beat LSG in their past three encounters.