IPL 2019: KKR CEO clears the air over releasing Mitchell Starc

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is still a few months away, however, some major announcements have already encircled around it. The international players could get only a short break ahead of yet another big tournament which is the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Hence, some nation’s cricket boards have allowed only limited leeway to participate in the IPL with their preferences inclined more to keep the players fit for World Cup.

On Thursday, the respective franchises have made proclamations regarding the number of players they have released and retained. One of the most blockbuster news was how Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc was released by Kolkata Knight Riders via a text message. The 28-year old was bought by the franchise for $1.47 million, however, missed out on the entire 2018 season due to a stress fracture.

Ahead of the 2019 edition, Starc revealed saying that he got a text message from the franchise that he has been released from his IPL contract. “I got a text message from the owners two days ago that I have been released from the IPL contract” mentioned Starc as quoted by TOI.

While there were concerns over the relationship between the left-arm speedster and the two-time champions, the CEO Venky Mysore cleared the air by saying on the website that nothing had hampered their relationship and it was a professional talk over the text.

“It has been picked out of context, because we have had a great relationship. Even when we picked him last year, he was not only over the moon, but he was also appreciative towards the confidence we had shown in him. He was extremely disappointed that he couldn’t come for last year’s IPL and frankly so were we. It left a big hole in our line-up. This time, when we had an exchange of messages, he was appreciative of where we were coming from. It was very cordial, and a professional type of exchange,” he said.

Auctions to depend heavily on the players’ availability

The CEO also mentioned that the auction will heavily depend on the players’ availability, owing to the Australian and the England players’ remaining unavailable due to the World Cup commencing from early June.

“The auctions this year will depend heavily on the availability of players, especially due to the World Cup coming up. The Australian Board has apparently said that their players appearing in the IPL and the ones in the World Cup have to return no later than May 1st. The English Cricket Board (ECB) have got a similar clause, so that will be an important consideration,” Venky added.

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