6 times KKR overspent on their players in the IPL Auction
18th December 2018, Jaipur. The date and place are set when the attention of all the top cricketers and media houses will be concentrated on the proceedings inside a small venue. The IPL auction has always been an event that has been keenly followed by all. Over the years, it has produced moments of drama, desperation, glory, and rejections.
Kolkata Knight Riders remain the franchise which has inevitably attracted eyeballs at the auction. With the Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan at the helm, they have never fallen short on the glamour quotient. One can not forget Shah Rukh Khan presenting the Golden warrior helmets to his players in a ceremony.
KKR has been extravagant in spending after the player of their choice. Over the years, they have splurged money after speed, mystery, and glamour. The Knight Riders ensured the services of Shoaib Akhtar, Ishant Sharma, Shane Bond, Ajantha Mendis, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell which came at an exorbitant price.
Tracking back, here are the six instances when KKR went overboard to secure a player.
#6 Mitchell Starc - 2018 (Base price: 2 Crores, Bought at: 9.4 Crores)
The ferocious Australian left-arm pacer is renowned for his tremendous skill of landing the ball in batsman’s blindspot. Mitchell Starc stole the show in 2015 World Cup by becoming the Player of the Tournament. No wonder, the Knight Riders were extremely impressed by his runaway speed and bamboozling lateral movement.
Mitchell Starc was drafted in the IPL Auction 2018. His base price was set at two crores. The bowler caused a bidding war between Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders. The hammer eventually settled down in favor of KKR and they purchased the Australian fast bowler for a whopping price of 9.4 crores.
Unfortunately, Mitchell Starc was diagnosed with a ‘tibial bone stress’ in his right leg in March 2018 and was ruled out of the IPL. Despite spending such a huge chunk of their budget, KKR missed out on their spearhead pace bowler for the whole season. The franchise has released him for IPL 2019.