Mitchell Starc IPL 2024 Team: CSK, RCB Or MI - Who Will Bid For Australian Pacer In Auction?

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Mitchell Starc is likely to be available for IPL 2024, ending an eight-year absence from the lucrative T20 league as reports suggest the Australian pace spearhead has registered his name for the player auction.

Accoring to CricBuzz, over 700 players have registered for the auction with several World Cup performers like Pat Cummins, Starc, Travis Head, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Gerald Coetzee among others expected to be the top draws.

Another report from Australia adds that Starc, despite making himself unavailable after being acquired in previous auctions, is one name that has got many franchises interested in landing the Australian pacer.

The 33-year-old spent two seasons with Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014 and 2015 before pulling out of the 2016 and 2017 seasons due to injury. In 2018, Starc was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 9.40 Crore, but did not feature in a single game for the franchise.

Now, sources close to Cricket Australia reveal that at least five franchises have expressed interest in the left-arm pacer, and he is likely to feature on the marquee list along with a few more pacers.

Which are the five teams likely to bid for Mitchell Starc in IPL 2024 auction?

The left-arm quick is expected to come in with a base price of Rs 2 Crore and will surely be among the marquee set during the IPL 2024 auction. Here is a look at teams that may be interested in the Australian spearhead:

CSK: Chennai Super Kings will definitely be keen to land an international pacer, but are unlikely to break the bank on someone like Starc as they may have other alternatives.

MS Dhoni's side may look at South Africa's Coetzee, who is expected to be among the first set of fast bowlers. With Starc expected to be drawn out early, he is likely to trigger a bidding war, which CSK will be an active part of, but won't go overboard.

MI: The Mumbai Indians, who have a stacked Indian batting unit, will definitely look at an international speedster to partner Jasprit Bumrah and also want to find a replacement for Jofra Archer.

With most areas covered, MI will look to stregnthen their pace department. Jason Behrendorff is already in the line up, but no team, especially the five time champions, will won't to miss out on a player of Starc's calibre. Like CSK, MI too will look at most pace options like Coetzee, Cummins and Dilshan Madushanka.

RCB: Starc's former side Royal Challengers Bangalore will hope to land the pacer, who spent two seasons with them. But with Cameron Green's trade taking away quarter of their remaining purse, RCB will be cautious as they need to add more bowlers, having released the three first choice options.

In his two seasons with RCB, Starc claimed 34 wickets in 27 matches. While RCB will be tempted to bring him back, the finances and number of slots needing to be filled may force them out of the bidding war.

DC: Delhi Capitals do have the funds for someone like Starc, but already have Anrich Nortje on their books. However, if they get a chance of landing him and someone like Head within their budget, they may be involved in the bidding war.

DC will need to fill at least 3 slots and can do that by also landing only overseas players. A replacement for Nortje is tempting, but they may look at someone who is less injury prone.

GT: Gujarat Titans have the remaining purse to bid for any player following the trade of Hardik Pandya to Mumbai Indians. Head coach Ashish Nehra also has a liking to stack his fast bowling options.

With the likes of Alzarri Joseph already being let go, GT will be in the conversation when Starc's name is drawn out in the IPL 2024 auction. The 2022 champions will also look at adding only one more foreign player, having filled the slot with 6 players. So, all will depend on if they go for an opener like Travis Head or a pacer.

KKR: Kolkata Knight Riders also have an history with Starc, having bought the player for Rs 9.40 crore in 2018, when the player pulled out due to an injury. The Knights do have the purse, but they may opt to go for former players Cummins or Lockie Ferguson.