KKR’s CEO Venky Mysore (R) and Mitchell Starc (L) posing with the IPL 2024 trophy, (X/@VenkyMysore)
A clip of KKR’s CEO, Venky Mysore speaking after the record-bid to get Mitchell Starc came about online after the franchise secured the IPL 2024 title.
A throwback clip of Kolkata Knight Riders CEO Venky Mysore celebrating Mitchell Starc’s purchase has resurfaced on social media. On December 19 last year, Kolkata bought the Aussie pacer at a record fee of Rs 24.75 crore for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season.
The deal eventually proved its worth as Starc put up some clutch performances in the playoffs to help Kolkata bag a 3rd IPL crown. However, at the time of the purchase, eyebrows were raised at the price tag of the ageing pacer, but Mysore had all the belief in the Australian veteran’s potential. In the video, now reshared by the franchise, the club’s director says, “Having got a player of that calibre, I think, is very important to the side. That was the view of the think tank.”
In the video, Venky Mysore also talked about how the management didn’t think much of Mitchell Starc’s price once the auction was over. He also touched upon how the purse was the same for every team and it was completely upon the franchises to make their preferred purchases. “Once the hammer comes down, you don’t talk about the price or think about the price…every team has the same purse, 100 crores, today we’ll all walk out having spent 100 crores but you slice it up differently which is okay,” he said.
READ MORE: Rishabh Pant: ‘Back on the Field with Indian Jersey on, Different Feel Altogether’
Venky Mysore also talked about how the Kolkata Knight Riders management wanted to add some star power to their squad. “You know Gautam Gambhir and Chandrakant Pandit and Abhishek [Nayar] and all our think tank felt that if we could manage to do it. I said see in auction there are no guarantees. So we’ll try our best. And the stars also have to align sometimes. Starcs also have to align,” Mysore jokingly concluded.
Mitchell Starc has certainly lived up to Venky Mysore’s words in the IPL 2024. The Aussie might not have had the best of the starts to his T20 tournament yet he delivered when it mattered the most. He was unplayable in the first qualifier, scalping three wickets against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. His heroics helped Kolkata seal a dominant eight-wicket victory, winning him the Player of the Match award.
Nothing changed in the IPL 2024 final, as Starc scalped another two against Hyderabad in Chepauk. He bagged another Player of the Match award in the final, sealing the trophy for the Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise. The veteran pacer finished his season with 17 scalps for the three-time IPL winners.
Stay updated with the latest from T20 World Cup 2024. Explore T20 World Cup Match Today. Check Updated list of Highest-run getters and Highest Wicket-Takers In T20 World Cup 2024. Check T20 World Cup 2024 Points Table and players with the Most Sixes, Most Fours , Most Fifties And Most HundredsIn T20 World Cup 2024.
