“I don’t know the schedule exactly – but I’ve enjoyed it, I look forward to being back next year,” he says of the IPL.
Mitchell Starc avoided the IPL for the majority of his prime years, but he may give up one sport altogether after leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the title. That sport might be one-day ODI cricket.
“For the past nine years, Australian cricket has been my top priority. After the IPL 2024 final in Chennai, where KKR easily defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to win their third title, Starc told reporters, “I have given myself a chance to give my body a break and spend some time away from cricket with my wife as well. That’s certainly been where my head’s been for the last nine years.”
“Moving forward… look, I am certainly closer to the end of my career than the start. One format may drop off. There is long time before the next one-day World Cup and whether that format continues for me or not… it may open doors for more franchise cricket.”
Mitchell Starc avoided the IPL for the majority of his prime years, but he may give up one sport altogether after leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the title. That sport might be one-day ODI cricket.
“For the past nine years, Australian cricket has been my top priority. After the IPL 2024 final in Chennai, where KKR easily defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to win their third title, Starc told reporters, “I have given myself a chance to give my body a break and spend some time away from cricket with my wife as well. That’s certainly been where my head’s been for the last nine years.”
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this season,” he stated. “It’s been fantastic, and the added bonus of playing against some incredible players in an incredible competition is that it leads into the World Cup. A fantastic build-up to a World Cup.
“Next year – I don’t know the schedule exactly – but I’ve enjoyed it, I look forward to being back next year and hopefully be seen in purple and gold [KKR’s colours] again.”
Starc, the most expensive IPL auction buy ever when KKR splurged INR 24.75 crore (US$2,982,000 approx.) had a terrible time of it to start with, going wicketless in his eight overs in the first two games while conceding 100 runs. He took time to get it right, picking up a three-for against Lucknow Super Giants and a four-for against Mumbai Indians, but really came into his own in the playoffs, with 3 for 34 and 2 for 14 against SRH in Qualifier 1 and the final.
“I’ve played a lot of cricket, so I know how to manage myself,” Starc stated. “I haven’t played a lot of T20 cricket in the last few years, so for me, it was trying to find that rhythm of [the] T20 format, and trying to stay ahead of batters.”