IPL 2024 Auction: Mitchell Starc could be most expensive buy but I will be little skeptical, says Aakash Chopra

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has tipped Mitchell Starc to be the most expensive buy in the upcoming IPL 2024 mini-auction. Starc has entered the IPL 2024 auction with a base price of INR 2 crores after last playing in the tournament in 2015 for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Meanwhile, Starc picked 16 wickets in 10 matches of the ODI World Cup 2023. Thus, he played a key role in taking Australia to glory for the sixth time.

Starc has a scorching yorker under his belt and he will be the cynosure of many franchises who are willing to rope in a quality seamer.

“Mitchell Starc would take away a million dollars. Almost everyone who plays in Australia have registered for the Tata IPL auctions. But the most popular of them is undoubtedly Starc. He is a gun bowler with the new ball, picks up early wickets and bowls yorkers as well. Starc is also a good death bowler and has impressive IPL numbers, as well. He did well playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the past. However, since then, the number of times he has backed out from playing in the league is a concerning factor,” Aakash Chopra said while hosting JioCinema’s daily sports show #AAKASHVANI.

Chopra said that the franchise can be in a spot of bother if Starc decides to opt out of the IPL at the 11th hour because of workload management as other players won’t be available at that time.

“After a team buys him, if he backs out at the last moment in order to focus on the Ashes or any personal reason, then the team is in a spot of bother. They will have the money released but key players will not be there. Even in this auction, apart from Starc, there will be other key bowlers like Gerald Coetzee, Josh Hazlewood, Dilshan Madushanka, Ben Dwarshuis and more. But, if you buy Starc and he backs out later, then you cannot go back to these names as well as they won’t be available anymore. I won’t be surprised if Starc goes for a huge sum of money but I will be a little sceptical, what if he backs out,” Chopra added.

Mitchell Starc has scalped 34 wickets in 27 IPL matches at an average of 20.38 and an economy rate of 7.17. The IPL 2024 mini-auction will be held in Dubai on December 19.