IPL 2024 Auction | Which Teams Have Mitchell Starc Played For?

image-lq3fejvvMitchell Starc (Twitter)

Mitchell Starc makes a long-awaited return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) after registering his name at the forthcoming mini-auction for a base sum of INR 2 crores. The experienced left-arm quick, who could be devastating with the ball, is part of the marquee set of players available for grabs at the bidding war scheduled in Dubai on December 19. 

Set to fetch a humongous final bid at the auction for IPL 2024, Starc makes a comeback to the annual T20 league following an eight-year absence. The cricketer could've bolstered his riches by playing the cash-stuffed tournament but opted to stay committed to his international duties for Australia as an all-format pacer. 

Focused on maintaining his great standards as one of Australia's formidable first-choice bowlers in Tests, ODIs and T20Is, Starc decided to manage his workload and freed up his commitments by choosing to snub the IPL altogether. 

The move surprised fans and experts as the pacer was willing to forego IPL riches to ensure he performs for Australia in an era where most players choose club over country in the longstanding debate. 

Which IPL Teams Have Mitchell Starc Played For? 

Notably, Starc has represented just one IPL franchise in the history of the league when he turned up for the immensely popular Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) during the league's 2014 and 2015 editions. 

True to his reputation, the tall left-arm pacer emerged as a destroyer of opposition line-ups during his RCB stint. Starc took 14 wickets in the 2014 edition played in UAE and India with an economy rate of 7.49 and performed even better when the league was played entirely on home shores in 2015, bagging 20 scalps in just 14 innings at 6.77 runs an over. 

Unfortunately for RCB, Starc decided not to continue his association with the franchise and opted to free the April-May window from his cricketing calendar thereafter as a mark of commitment towards his international duties for the team from Down Under. 

The pacer was due to return to the league via the 2018 iteration in Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) colours after finding a whopping bid of INR 9.40 crores at the pre-season auction. 

However, an untimely injury picked up during the Test series in South Africa earlier that year saw the pacer back out from his KKR deal as he feared disruption to his rehab and worsening of injury and fatigue before Australia's next assignment. 

It isn't that Starc has had a change of heart when it comes to the league. He is playing the IPL once again, keeping his Australian priorities in mind as the league's 2024 edition in March-May acts as a wonderful precursor to the ICC T20 World Cup in June in the Caribbean & USA.