Chennai (Tamil Nadu): After rejecting the offers to play Indian Premier League (IPL) for almost a decade to focus on International cricket, especially the Tests, Australian speedster Mitchell Starc clinched the title with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in his comeback season. After the match, Starc, Player of the Match Award of the IPL 2024 final, stated that his cricketing career is nearing retirement and he might quit one format going ahead.
Mitchell Starc (2/14) picked up two wickets upfront including the dangerous southpaw opener Abhishek Sharma (2 off 5 balls) and in-form Rahul Tripathi (9 off 13 balls) and put their rivals under pressure right away. For his exceptional three-over spell in the powerplay where not just sent a couple of batters back to the pavilion, but he even didn't let the batters free their arms and score runs.
"For the last nine years, I certainly prioritized Australian cricket. I have pulled out often to have 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 has been for last nine years," the 34-year-old Starc said after his match-winning performance for KKR in IPL final.
"Moving forward, I am certainly closer to the end of my career than the start. One format may be dropped off as there is a long time till the next World Cup and whether that format drops off or not, that will open doors for a lot of franchise cricket," Starc added.
However, he didn't specify which format, but with not much cricket ODI cricket before the Champions Trophy 2025 and the next 50-over World Cup being far away in 2027, he would likely drop the 50-over format. As the fast-bowling is considered the toughest job in international cricket, left-arm seamer probably doesn't see himself playing the format three years down the line.
Apart from that, speaking about his participation in IPL for the preparations of the upcoming T20 World Cup in the Caribbean Islands and America, the 34-year-old said, "I thoroughly enjoyed this season as it leads into a World Cup and that's the other side of the benefit of being here, some amazing players in an amazing tournament and great lead up to WT20 and success has been fantastic. It is great that a lot of players are in a good position heading into the World Cup."
"I don't know the schedule exactly but I have thoroughly enjoyed and hope to be back next year and hopefully, seen in purple and gold again," he concluded, raising hopes of getting retained by KKR before the IPL 2025 mega-auction.
Starc, who was bought for a record 24.75 crore by KKR, didn't get the perfect start as wasn't picking wickets and did even not look in rhythm. But, as they call him a big match player, he returned to the form when it needed the most for KKR. He not just picked up wickets, but didn't let the bowlers score against him at the business end of the tournament. Starc ended up with 17 wickets, including five in the two knock-out games, to engineer a dominant title triumph for the Shah Rukh Khan-owned team. (With PTI inputs)
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