IPL 2024: I don’t read anything – Mitchell Starc unfazed by criticism

Kolkata Knight Riders gun fast bowler Mitchell Starc has revealed that he is unfazed by criticism. Starc said he doesn’t read anything and thus it doesn’t bother him whatever is written by the media about his performances.

Since KKR broke the bank for Starc in the IPL 2024 mini-auction, buying him for a whopping INR 24.75 crores, there are lofty expectations from the lanky pacer. However, Starc, who is playing in the IPL after 2015, has got off to a slow start in the tournament.

Starc bowled at his best against Lucknow Super Giants at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday. The ace fast bowler returned with impressive figures of 3-28 in his quota of four overs to restrict the opposition to 161-7. The left-arm seamer accounted for Deepak Hooda, who was caught brilliantly by Ramandeep Singh at point.

Starc got the big wicket of a well-settled Nicholas Pooran and also dismissed Arshad Khan.

“I don’t read anything so that doesn’t bother me. I haven’t played a lot of T20 cricket in the last couple of years, so it’s probably taken me a little bit longer than I would have liked to get back into the rhythm of things and make a better impact. So today was nice in that regard,” Starc said on Sunday.

Starc reckons it is imperative to be focused on the next game in T20s and managing workload is not a big deal for him as he has played Test cricket for more than a decade.

“I’m 34, so I’m pretty good with my workloads. I’ve been doing this a long time, so that’s fine. It’s T20 cricket. For the guys that play a lot of Test cricket, this is certainly a lot easier physically. It’s probably more getting used to the tactical side of it.”

“We play again on Tuesday, and I think that’s a feature of T20 cricket, whether you have a good day or bad day. You quickly focus on the next game. So far, we’ve started the season quite well as a group, and now we move on to Tuesday.”

Kolkata Knight Riders will next take on Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Tuesday.