RCB playing 11 from Mitchell Starc's IPL debut in 2014 - where are they now?
Mitchell Starc celebrated his 34th birthday on January 30, 2024. The left-arm seamer had a great year in his professional career as he won the ICC World Test Championship and ICC ODI World Cup with the Australian cricket team.
The Aussie star also became the most expensive signing in IPL history as Kolkata Knight Riders splurged ₹24.75 crores for his services.
Starc has been a part of only two IPL seasons so far, playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2014 and 2015. In those two seasons, he scalped 34 wickets in 27 matches, recording best figures of 4/15.
Starc made his IPL debut on April 17, 2014 against the Delhi Capitals (then known as Delhi Daredevils) at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. In this listicle, we will look at RCB's playing XI from that game and where those players are now.
Openers - Parthiv Patel (wk) and Nic Maddinson
RCB used a new opening pair of Parthiv Patel and Nic Maddinson in that contest. Like Mitchell Starc, his compatriot Maddinson was also making his IPL debut. Maddinson did not have a great debut as he managed only four runs off six balls before losing his wicket to Mohammed Shami. Patel scored a decent 28-ball 37.
Patel has retired from international cricket. He participates in Legends League Cricket, T10 League, works as a commentator, and was also appointed as the batting coach of MI Emirates in ILT20 in 2022. Meanwhile, Maddinson is still active in domestic cricket. He played for Melbourne Renegades in the 2023/24 BBL season.
Middle Order - Virat Kohli (c), Yuvraj Singh, AB de Villiers, Albie Morkel and Sachin Rana
Mitchell Starc made his IPL debut under Virat Kohli's captaincy. The team's most expensive signing of IPL 2014, Yuvraj Singh also made his RCB debut on April 17, 2014. Kohli and Yuvraj starred in RCB's win as they stitched together an unbeaten 84-run third-wicket partnership to help the team chase a 146-run target in just 16.4 overs.
Kohli missed out on his half-century by one run, while Yuvraj finished with a 29-ball 52*, which included three fours and five sixes. AB de Villiers, Albie Morkel and Sachin Rana did not get an opportunity to bat. Morkel opened the bowling with Starc and scalped one wicket.
Kohli continues to be a part of the RCB team. He stepped down as captain in 2021 but took over the leadership duties when Faf du Plessis was unavailable for a few games last year. Yuvraj has retired and only plays in exhibition matches now.
AB de Villiers and Albie Morkel have hung up their boots as well. Morkel has tried his luck in coaching after retirement, whereas de Villiers works as a commentator and has his own YouTube channel. Rana played his last IPL game that season. He was last seen in the cricket world in 2018 when he turned up for Abahani Ltd in Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League.
Bowlers - Varun Aaron, Mitchell Starc, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ashok Dinda
RCB played with three pace bowlers and one specialist spinner in that match. The bowlers did an impressive job as they restricted Delhi to 145/4 in 20 overs. Ashok Dinda was the most expensive bowler with figures of 0/51 in four overs. Even Mitchell Starc went for 33 runs in his four-over spell, but he picked up the wicket of Mayank Agarwal.
Yuzvendra Chahal and Varun Aaron combined took two wickets while conceding just 27 runs in their seven overs. Chahal has now become IPL's leading wicket-taker. He plays for the Rajasthan Royals team. Meanwhile, Aaron won IPL 2022 with Gujarat Titans but remained unsold in the subsequent auctions.
Dinda has retired from international cricket. He plays in Legends League Cricket and exhibition matches. Besides, he has also tried his luck in politics. Mitchell Starc is Australia's lead pacer and will don the Kolkata Knight Riders jersey in IPL 2024.