'Not Sure Any Words Would Do Justice' - Starc On KKR's Record-Breaking IPL Bid
Mitchell Starc returns to IPL as highest paid cricketer (Twitter)
Mitchell Starc stood jubilant at an unprecedented payday in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he earned a whopping final bid of INR 24.75 crores from two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the mini-auction held in Dubai on Tuesday (December 19).
The Australian left-arm pacer's much-anticipated return to IPL cricket after eight long years of refusal to compile his workload with T20 league commitments proved to be a game-changing event for his bank balance.
After waiting anxiously for his turn at the bidding process as one of the prominent seamers registered in the fourth set of players, Starc saw an high intense tussle to secure his services inside the hall in the Middle East and eventually became IPL's richest cricketer in the tournament's existence.
Mitchell Starc Reacts On Bumper Payday At IPL Auction
Starc earned a one-up on his Australian captain Pat Cummins, who had initially emerged as the highest paid IPL cricketer at the same auction with a bid of INR 20.50 crores from the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). The Aussie duo is now the only two players in IPL cricket to fetch a contract worth over 20 crores mark.
Watching the proceedings in Australia while he builds up towards the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan at the MCG, the veteran pacer said he is lost for words after the turn of events and said while he expected to earn a comeback to the IPL rigours, there was no iota of thought that he could become the highest paid cricketer in the league ever.
"I'm not sure any words would do it justice, really," Starc was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo with an amusing laugh before revealing it was his wife and Australian women's team giant Alyssa Healy, who gave him the update on KKR's winning bid.
"Alyssa was over there with the Australian team at the minute, so her coverage was slightly ahead of mine here in Australia. So she sort of saw the numbers before I did, so I was getting the updates through her."
"But, yeah, a fair bit of shock, and certainly excitement with how it was all unfolding. But nothing that I could've ever imagined. Thoroughly thrilled to be joining KKR," he added.
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