Australia’s left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc started a bidding war never seen before in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 Auction. The paddles kept going up and it was a record-breaking tussle between Gujarat Titans (GT) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Two-time IPL winner and KKR’s mentor Gautam Gambhir was not ready to let go of Starc and roped him in for a record-breaking amount of Rs 24.75 crore. As there have been debates over whether Starc is worth the hefty price tag, his wife Alyssa Healy who is leading Australia women’s cricket team across formats said that it is his choices over the last eight years that led to him becoming the most expensive player in IPL history.
“Look, it is what it is,” Healy replied as she was asked about Starc’s IPL bid ahead of the one-off Test against Harmanpreet Kaur-led India.
“It is an amazing moment for Mitch. It is a great justification for the hard work he has put in and (for) probably some of the choices he has made over the last eight years to put his country first,” she said.
Healy also cleared the air over a video of her that went viral on social media after Starc went to KKR. The 33-year-old said that it was not her reaction video to Starc’s bid and she was working out when it happened.
“I was actually in the gym, not thinking of beers, working hard (and) watching it all unfold. (It was an) amazing day for him and Pat (Cummins),” she said.
Starc made his IPL debut in 2015 for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He played for RCB for two seasons taking 34 wickets from 27 games. He has an IPL career economy rate of 7.17 runs per over.
2023 has been a phenomenal year for Starc. First, Australia won their maiden World Test Championship (WTC) title after beating India in the final on England soil. Last month, Australia won the ODI World Cup 2023 after beating Rohit Sharma-led India at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The 33-year-old has a total of 73 wickets from 58 T20Is including one four-fer. His economy rate is 7.63 runs per over.
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