Earlier this year, while playing in the newly-launched Women’s Premier League in Mumbai, Alyssa Healy shared a deja-vu with her husband. “I was over here (in India) when Mitch played for RCB for two years. It was really exciting to get to share those moments with him. We’ve had that same conversation. He also wants to be here (for the WPL),” she told this newspaper before addressing the big elephant in the room. “He plays a lot more Test cricket than I do and has a busy schedule. But I’ve got no doubt that if the opportunity comes for him to return to the IPL, he would.”
Eight years had passed since Mitchell Starc last steamed in to bowl in an IPL match. Eight years until Tuesday. A frenetic four way bidding war ensued in Dubai for over 15 minutes and by the end of it, the 33-year-old had become the most expensive player in the history of franchise cricket. 24.75 crore ($4.43m) for 14 – at the most 17 games – must have felt scarcely believable, especially when finding out on WhatsApp. “My wife is actually over in India with the women’s team. Their coverage was slightly ahead of mine in Australia. So I was getting updates before I could see it on the screen,” Starc would tell JioCinema later.
Healy watching it all unfold in Mumbai was a nice touch to the Mayanagri’s city of dreams epithet. But it’s the city of joy where Starc is headed. He’d been halfway there in 2018 as well.
Back then, the two-time IPL winners had acquired the left-armer for Rs 9.4 Crore ‘only’. But a stress fracture in his right leg meant that Starc missed out the entirety of the season. “We felt for him badly. But we said to him, ‘Don’t worry about it’,” KKR CEO Venky Mysore recalled the nightmare on Tuesday before visualizing the good days ahead. “It’ll be fun to see him have his run up at Eden Gardens. I think the crowd will have a lot of fun.”
In June, Starc had voiced the reasons behind his distance from the glitz and glamour world of IPL. “The traditionalist in me still hopes there is a generation of boys and girls who want to represent their country in Test cricket. But the easy money is in franchise cricket, it’s the fast track to notoriety,” he was quoted by The Guardian.
Explained
Eden, a pacer’s home
The sight of Mitchell Starc scampering in to bowl at a packed Eden Gardens with the new ball in his hand will be some sight. Having been fabled for its spin aiding abilities once, the track at KKR’s home ground has lately become a safer haven for the pacers with its greenish tinge. Although it’s more flat and prone to runs, equally assisting is its bounce for the quicks. Just last year though, the KKR captain Nitish Rana had lashed out at the surface on offer. With the spin-heavy bowling attack failing to make the most at Eden Gardens, the then skipper had gone so far as to suggest that every team in the IPL enjoys home advantage ‘except KKR’. To which the Eden Gardens pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee had told this publication that he was not bound to produce wickets as per the directions of the home team. Perhaps, the left-arm searing pace of Starc will cool things down a little in the upcoming season.
“There’s more and more franchise cricket, and more and more talk about 12-month franchise contracts, where it would potentially be like football, where you have an international window, or you need clearance from your club to go and play international sport,” Starc added. So, what changed his mind?
Speaking to the home broadcasters on Tuesday, Starc didn’t beat around the bush and made it known that the T20 World Cup immediately after the league was on his radar. His fellow 20 Crore INR ceiling breaker, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, who went unsold, also putting their names up for the auction seconded that. Having prioritized Test cricket, “a much quieter” first half of the year with fewer five-day matches around the time also came into fray.
Alyssa has spoken about the cricket conversations at home in the past. “We speak a lot about the global game as a whole and what we can do individually to grow the sport. To help support the game where it needs to be. And being a part of competitions like this is exactly the way to do that. A, they are enjoyable. B, being a part of them is only going to improve your cricket and hopefully others around you.”
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd