The highly anticipated mini-auction for IPL 2024 is just a day to go and it is scheduled to occur on December 19 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Ahead of the auction, former Indian cricketer and analyst Sanjay Manjrekar gave his opinion on a potential game-changer in the upcoming event. He said that veteran Australian pacer Mitchell Starc could be that guy. He also predicted that one team between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore would go behind the Aussie great.
Sanjay said that Starc has an exceptional ability to swing the ball in the air and deliver precise yorkers making him a formidable asset for any franchise.
While having a conversation with Star Sports, Manjrekar said, “Teams that have to play half their home games on absolutely flat pitches may go for him. He is one bowler in the world who will maybe take the pitch out of the equation, do all the magic in the air, get swung, and hurl in yorkers with the new ball and at the death. So, teams like Mumbai Indians, who have got (Jason) Behrendorff along with Jasprit Bumrah, could show interest in him after letting go of Jofra Archer.”
Talking about RCB, Manjrekar said, “RCB has got Reece Topley, who is a pretty good bowler, but on flat pitches where most bowlers struggle, Starc and Bumrah are the kind of bowlers who will bring the team back into the game with their bowling because they don’t rely on the pitch as much as some of the other bowlers.”
Starc has entered into the IPL with a base price of INR 2 crore. Previously, the bowler played for RCB in 2014 and 2015 where got 34 wickets in 27 matches.
