Mitchell Starc returned to IPL after eight years when he was bought for Rs 24.75 crores by Kolkata Knight Riders.

Chennai: Indian Premier League’s most expensive buy Mitchell Starc felt ‘being more experienced and older’ helped the Australian overcome the price-tag pressure after having a disappointing start in IPL 2024. Having played in IPL 2015 before this season, the left-arm pacer broke all records when Kolkata Knight Riders shelled out a whopping Rs 24.75 crore at the auction, held in Dubai last year in December. Starc was subject to criticism when he could manage just seven wickets in eight matches.

However, he returned strongly with 10 wickets from his last six games, including Player of the Match awards in Qualifier 1 and IPL 2024 final. He also became the first player in the history of IPL to clinch back-to-back Player of the Match awards in playoffs.

“There have been plenty of jokes and what not made about the money,” said Starc at the post-match press conference. “It’s been a long time since I have played in the IPL. I am certainly an older and more experienced player now. It’s probably helped with managing all the expectations or leading the attack or whatever it may be. I am certainly glad I am a bit more experienced and older to deal with all of that.

“Personally, it has been a lot of fun, been great to learn and see how these guys go about it. Full credit to the whole squad of players and staff, it has made my life pretty easy,” he added. It was an one-sided final on Sunday with KKR dominating the opposition from the start.

While Starc’s ball of IPL 2024 broke the shackles of Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head was one again gone for a golden duck, leading to SRH’s collapse. The 2016 champions were tottering at 21/3 inside the powerplay to eventually be bundled out for 113 – lowest-ever total in an IPL final.

In reply KKR rode on Venkatesh Iyer’s unbeaten 52 in just 26 balls to demolish the opposition bowlers. “It is a great night for KKR. What a game, what a series, what a season. It was an upward journey through from the start of the IPL to now, but we have a fantastic squad of bowlers and batters and our staff have been fantastic to get everyone peaking at the back end of the tournament.

“We have been such a consistent side. We haven’t had one or two people standing out, it’s been contributions from everyone. So, great to contribute personally but I think the fact that we’ve had everyone contribute throughout the year has been a big part of our success,” he said.