Aussies, they always get it right when it's crunch time. There was a lot of trolling and memes and jokes about Mitchell Starc, his auction price and the lack of performance, especially in the first half. However, the turnaround has been sensational and as the T20 World Cup kept getting closer, Starc came back to his best for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Starc gave two back-to-back Player of the Match performances in the qualifier and then the final helping his side win the IPL title for the third time.
Starc, who became the most expensive player in IPL history after KKR splurged INR 24.75 crore, did come up with the goods, especially in the big games and after a successful season, hoped that he would get retained by the Knight Riders. However, given there is a mega auction and the retentions might be in single digits, there are a lot of unknowns.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Starc said that the return to IPL after nine years was good, especially leading into the T20 World Cup and hoped that he can play a lot more of franchise cricket in the latter stages of his career. But Starc did mention that, it would mean one format will have to be kept at the backburner and it mostly will be the ODIs.
"The last nine years, I've prioritised Australian cricket. I have given myself a chance to give my body a break and spend some time away from cricket with my wife as well, so that's certainly been where my head's been for the last nine years," Starc said. "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."
Starc mentioned that there are a lot of uncertainties still regarding the schedule of the IPL for the next year and such other things but hoped that KKR could retain him.
"I've thoroughly enjoyed this season," he said. "It's been great, it leads into the World Cup, that's the other side of the benefit of being here against some amazing players in an amazing tournament. It's a great lead-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 added.
Starc hadn't played much T20 cricket in the last year or so with the focus being on ODI cricket with the World Cup in October-November last year. However, with a T20 World Cup around the corner, the 34-year-old labelled IPL as the best dress rehearsal for the same.
