• Source:JND
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IPL 2024 Auction: Mitchell Starc, Australia's star all-rounder is very excited to be part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) once again and to represent Kolkata Knight Riders from the upcoming option.

The pacer, on Tuesday, December 19, became the most expensive player in the history of the T20 league after being bought at a price of INR 24.75 crore.

He surpassed his Aussie teammate Pat Cummins in making history and became the second cricketer to cross the 20-crore barrier in the IPL. After getting picked, Starc mentioned that he couldn’t wait to play at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

“Hey, KKR fans; I’m thrilled to be joining the team for this year’s IPL. And I can’t wait to get to Eden Gardens to experience the home fans, the home crowd, and the atmosphere. I look forward to seeing you then. Ami KKR,” Starc was quoted as saying in a video uploaded on the official Twitter handle of the Knight Riders.

Four teams; Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals (DC), Mumbai Indians (MI), and Gujarat Titans (GT) were involved in a bidding war for Starc before the Shreyas Iyer-led side bagged the services of the World Cup winner.

Starc will be making his return to the IPL after a long while, having played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 2014 and 2015 editions of the IPL. In 2018, the Knight Riders roped him at a price of INR 9.40 crore, but he could not take part after sustaining an injury.

"Yeah, it was a shock if you call it. My wife is actually in India with the women's team and I think their coverage was slightly ahead of ours here in Australia. I was pretty surprised but happy to be back and excited to be joining KKR," Starc said while speaking to Jio Cinema during the auction break.

Starc played a key role in Australia's World Cup-winning campaign in India, picking up 16 wickets at an economy rate of 6.06 to show his class.