"Bowlers were going to be a hot property," says De Villiers on Starc's historic bid

New Delhi [India], December 19 : South African batting legend AB de Villiers described Australian pacer Mitchell Starc's historic move to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League auction as "unbelievable" and said that bowlers were going to be a hot property in the auction.
Starc became the most expensive player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 24.75 crore at the auction in Dubai on Tuesday.
Appearing on JioCinema's 'Match Center Live Auction Special' during the IPL 2024 Player Auction on Tuesday, JioCinema IPL experts analysed fast bowler Mitchell Starc's move to Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 24.75 crore.
De Villiers said, "Absolutely unbelievable. I think we are all just in awe. I think the trick lies if you win the World Cup, then things like this happen. You can only be happy for the guys. Obviously, KKR are under a bit of pressure having spent most of their purse, but I am sure they will pick up good value buys later on. It is just incredible and shows you the power of this tournament and where it is going. Every single year it gets bigger and better and stronger. Happy for those two, those stalwarts know what to do with the ball in their hand. As we mentioned before, the bowlers were going to be hot property and we were not disappointed at all."
Indian pace great Zaheer Khan also said that the mini-auctions bring clarity of thoughts from all franchises but he did not expect the bid to reach this level.
"Well, everyone was expecting that fast bowlers would be in demand - that is something which the small auctions always bring, the clarity of thought from all the franchises. But I do not think anyone would have ever imagined that it would reach this kind of level! Rs 20 crore is a big barrier, it has been broken today and how. So, I think it is just about these two teams going by that one player, having that clarity of the playing eleven and holding the nerves and back themselves through and through," said Zaheer.
Mike Hesson, the former Director of Cricket for RCB said that Gujarat Titans dug themselves a hole as they waited the whole auction just to get Starc and are now left with a lot of money when there is not much to spend in terms of what is left.
"Well, they (GT) basically dug themselves a hole. So, they waited the whole auction just to get Mitchell Starc, which to be fair, RCB almost did and then they decided to go for Alzarri Joseph beforehand because they knew what is going to unfold. It is bizarre because what is GT going to do now? It is one of those strategies that can leave you exposed and GT is going to go home with a lot of money because there is not a lot to spend in terms of what is left. But I think RCB and MI are the ones who have done really well to get out of this - to get Gerald Coetzee and Dilshan Madushanka under 10 cr with all this chaos going around them I think are really good buys," said Hesson.
Former Indian pacer RP Singh said that he was surprised to see the amount of money spent on Starc, especially after returning to the auction following an eight-year absence. He said that Starc's captain Shreyas Iyer will now expect him to win 40 per cent of matches with his bowling and make an impact.
"I am a little surprised with the money KKR spent on Starc. I did not feel that anyone would cross the Rs 20 crore mark. The second thing is Mitchell Starc will be playing the IPL after a long time. It is not that he has put up outstanding performances consistently. He has not played the IPL for eight years. And it's not that he has played say five T20s and won three matches on the back of his own abilities. If they spend so much money on a player, then the captain may expect him to win 40 per cent of the matches and ensure that the player has a solid impact on games. So, if I am born again, I should be born in Australia (laughs) and I should be a left-arm fast bowler again!," said RP.