"It is not only about his bowling" - Gautam Gambhir justifies KKR purchasing Mitchell Starc for ₹24.75 crore at IPL 2024 auction

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor Gautam Gambhir has defended the purchase of Australia quick Mitchell Starc for a record amount of ₹24.75 crore at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction. The former cricketer termed the left-armer as an X-factor and added that he will also be the leader of the bowling attack.

Starc broke the record for the most expensive player to be purchased in the history of the IPL auction when KKR shelled out ₹24.75 crore for him. He surpassed his Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins, who was earlier picked up for ₹20.50 crore by SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Speaking to JioCinema, Gambhir backed KKR’s decision to break the bank for Starc.

"He (Starc) is an X-factor, there is no doubt about that. Someone who can bowl with the new ball, bowl in the death overs and more importantly, someone who can lead the attack. He is going to be of massive help to our two domestic bowlers because both of them are very talented and you need someone to help them out in the middle and Starc covers those bases," he said.

"It is not only about his bowling but also about leading the attack and helping all guys around him. So, somebody will have to pay for it," the 42-year-old went on to add.

Gambhir stated that he is pleased with the strong bowling line-up Kolkata have put together following the IPL 2024 auction.

"We have a lot of depth in our bowling line-up. We always wanted to have a stronger bowling attack and now we have the options with Mujeeb (Ur Rahman), Gus (Atkinson), Sunil (Narine), Varun (Chakravarthy), and Mitchell Starc along with two Indian seamers (Harshit Rana and Suyash Sharma) and Chetan Sakariya," he said.

"Now, we have enough options where we can play different combinations looking at the venue as well. For me, it has always been about having a strong bowling line-up compared to a very strong batting line-up," Gambhir added.

At the auction in Dubai, KKR purchased Mujeeb Ur Rahman for ₹2 crore and Chetan Sakariya for ₹50 lakh.

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“For me, KKR is not a team, it is an emotion” - Gambhir

The 2024 IPL marks Gambhir’s return to the franchise, a team he led to title triumphs in 2012 and 2014.

Asked about his emotions about returning to KKR, the former opener said:

"For me, KKR is not a team, it is an emotion. The reason is the amount of love that I have received from the people of Kolkata for seven years that I led them and, hopefully, I led them with a lot of honesty. Hopefully, we can recreate the same memories that we did in 2012 and 2014. There is no guarantee that we will go out and win but there is one guarantee for sure, that we will fight till the last drop of our blood.”

Before joining Kolkata Knight Riders, Gambhir was a mentor with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).