Australian veteran batter Steve Smith wants Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Mitchell Starc to swing the ball back into the right-handers to get his rewards in the ongoing Indian Premier League 2024. KKR had broken the bank for Mitchell Starc in the IPL 2024 mini-auction as they roped him for a whopping amount of INR 24.75 crores but he is yet to give them the returns.
As a left-arm pacer, Starc’s strength is to move the ball back into the right-handers but he hasn’t done that consistently so far with the new ball. The Australian conceded 53 runs in the opening match of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad whereas he conceded 47 runs in his quota of four overs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Furthermore, the Australian gun fast bowler has gone wicketless in the first two matches of the season.
Speaking on Star Sports, Steve Smith said, “I think today (against Royal Challengers Bengaluru) he was looking to wobble the ball across the right-handed batter, which is a good option, but I feel like he’s got to swing it back down the line. He is a left-hand fast bowler who can bowl at 145+ KMPH. There’s nothing like a ball swinging back into a right-handed batsman. It’s one of the hardest balls to face. So I’d like to see that first and use that one as a variation to trying to nick off from them”.
On the other hand, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan also concurred with Smtih as he added that Starc is at his best when he gets the ball to move into the right-handers.
“Starc is at his best when he is swinging the ball in. When that looping swing starts to the right-hand batter, it can be lethal. And I haven’t seen that in the last two games. The head could just be staying on the ball a bit more, or it could just be the pitches, or it could just be getting used to Indian conditions. Once he starts getting that inswing, he will be a bowler to watch out for throughout the IPL”.
KKR will next face Delhi Capitals at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.
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