KKR pacer Mitchell Starc ruled out of 2018 IPL

Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc has been ruled out of the 2018 IPL after suffering a tibial bone stress in his right leg, the same reason why he missed the ongoing fourth Test against South Africa in Johannesburg.

Starc was bought by the Knight Riders for a whopping INR 9.4 crore in the 2018 IPL auction. Australian captain Tim Paine conceded that the left-arm pacer was playing in the Test series against South Africa in spite of the injury.

Due to this injury, he will miss out on the IPL for the third successive time - the last match he played in the tournament came way back in 2015 when he turned out for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the playoff match against Chennai Super Kings.

In most cases, it takes six to eight weeks for a stress fracture to heal but there is no official confirmation regarding the amount of time Starc will be on the sidelines. The franchise is yet to issue a statement regarding this and name a replacement for the Aussie quick.

Starc becomes the fifth Australian batsman after Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jason Behrandorff (both injuries), David Warner and Steve Smith to miss the 2018 IPL as the duo was banned from their participation after Cricket Australia slapped them with a one-year ban for their involvement in ball tampering.

Kolkata are having their own headaches as spinner Sunil Narine has been reported for illegal bowling action while there are no updates about the availability of Chris Lynn, who is nursing a shoulder injury, Andre Russell, who got injured during the 2018 PSL and Mitchell Johnson, who had to take stitches on his head but is likely to be fit for his team's tournament opener.

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