Australian pacer Mitchell Starc scripted history with his IPL signing. The left-arm quick returned to the tournament after a gap of 8 years, becoming the most expensive player in the tournament history. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) splurged INR 24.75 crore to have him on board for this season but the start he endured wasn’t ideal.
Starc had to face flak from experts and fans on social media for an inconsistent run in the first half of the tournament. However, the seasoned pacer bounced back when the team needed it the most – the Playoffs and the final. KKR squared off against Sunrisers Hyderabad on both occasions with Starc picking up a wicket right in the first over. The left-arm quick cleaned up Travis Head in Ahmedabad and Abhishek Sharma in Chennai, bagging the Player of the Match award for his exceptional show in both games.
Reacting to Starc’s social media bashing in the initial phase of the tournament, KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir said a player shouldn’t think much about the outside noise. He added that the management always believed in the fast bowler’s ability.
“It doesn’t matter what people say in the outside world or on social media. The experts will judge a player, it’s their profession. People on social media will always do that. But what the players are being told in the dressing room, that’s most important,” Gambhir told Sportskeeda during a conversation.
“We never doubted Mitchell Starc’s ability. We knew he would be an X-factor in the tournament. And what would have been better than standing up and performing in Qualifier 1 and the final? His bowling was terrific. Big players thrive on such occasions. And the money factor is irrelevant. And his price tag wasn’t important to us. Rather we focused on what value he adds to the team,” he added.
Gambhir further said the players should not be offended by the experts’ opinions. Rather, they should focus on what the people in the dressing are telling them.
“Players should not feel bad about what the experts say. It’s their profession. They will judge on your performance. You score a zero and you will be criticized and if you score a hundred you get praised. People outside the dressing room and their opinions are not important at all.
“In that [KKR] dressing room, we never made Starc feel bad about the start he got coming into the tournament,” Gambhir added.
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