Former England pacer Stuart Broad, who is currently working as a commentator for Star Sports’ English team, believes that Mitchell Starc will bring about a turnaround in the upcoming matches.
Broad made this claim after watching Starc get hit by RCB batsmen last night during Kolkata Knight Riders’ 7-wicket win at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The Australian left-arm pacer had a poor economy rate of over 11 as he gave away 47 runs in his 4 overs.
It is unknown if Mitchell Starc is feeling the pressure of being the most expensive player in IPL history or if he is simply out of form. Whatever it is, the KKR management, including his mentor Gautam Gambhir, hopes to see him improve as the season progresses. The Rs 24.75 crore purchase has experienced a dire welcome in the richest T20 league, to which he returns for the first time since 2015.
During KKR’s opening match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens, Mitchell Starc emerged as the second most expensive bowler after Varun Chakravarty.
While the Indian scored 55 runs in his 4 overs, the two-time Cricket World Cup winner, who won the CWC 2023 semi-final against South Africa at the same venue, conceded 53. That too without a wicket. In his name and his last night, the story remained the same when he was left without a wicket.
What did Stuart Broad say about Mitchell Starc?
While talking about the poor run that Mitchell Starc has experienced in KKR’s first two matches, Stuart Broad stated that the Australian lacks match awareness. The reason why he cannot pick wickets has something to do with his bond with captain Shreyas Iyer and a fielding group.
Broad, who has never played a single IPL season, said Mitchell Starc should bond more with his teammates and when he gets into the rhythm, there is no one more dangerous than him.
“There is no doubt that when he gets it right, he is lethal with the ball. But he just lacks a bit of match knowledge in the IPL. The more you know your captain and your defense group, the better you will be. He will feel a bit of pressure because when you come in with that price, you want to pick wickets.” – Stuart Broad said via Star Sports.
Another thing to note here about Mitchell Starc is that he has bowled on two surfaces tailor-made for batting. The Eden Gardens was literally a batting paradise as we saw over 400 runs scored, the Chinnaswamy track was no different. So Starc might have to modify his tactics a bit and hope to play on a bowling-friendly lane in the upcoming matches.
Broad highlights KKR’s winning performance despite poor performances from Mitchell Starc
Stuart Broad then raised a very good point that KKR, despite their poor performances with the ball, are still winning. They are currently the 3rd franchise along with CSK and RR to have maintained a 100% winning record and Knight Riders also broke the home advantage streak with their 7-wicket win.
The former England pacer further stated that Mitchell Starc’s place in the team could have been up for debate if KKR were on the losing side. However, with his team having achieved consecutive victories, Starc has very little reason to worry.
“He’s 2 for 2 in the wins category, which I think is what you judge yourself by. Generally, if you’re on a winning team, you stay on the team. You’ll be delighted that your team is getting over the line. “If he had shot 0 for 100 and his team had lost both games, then his place would have gone under the scanner.” – he concluded broadly.
