Starc Impact Player rule has played a part in bowlers inflated numbers

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IPL 2024 has been a mixed bag for Mitchell Starc. He was the most expensive pick ever at an IPL auction - going for INR 24.75 crore - but was also having a tough time with the ball. In an edition that is seeing an unprecedented high-scoring rate, Starc had just seven wickets and an economy of 11.78 in his first eight outings, and had conceded more than 50 three times.

On Friday, he bounced back with 4 for 33 in Kolkata Knight Riders' 24-run win over Mumbai Indians, and said the Impact Player rule had a part to play in the bowlers' inflated numbers this season.

"The Impact Player rule changes things a fair bit," Starc said at the press conference. "Everyone gets to bat a lot deeper having a batting and a bowling XI. There's a lot made of that rule throughout the tournament and there's been a lot of high scores, which is the nature of the wickets and the grounds we play on here. When you have batters and batting allrounders come in at Nos. 8 or 9, it's a long batting line-up.

"There's no fear in the powerplay when all you have to do is to clear the infield and score runs. Certainly, there has been some really good batting, don't get me wrong, it's not just the rules that play a part there. There's been some fantastic scoring, some fantastic partnerships and some individual brilliance with the bat."

Starc began his spell against MI with a full ball that thudded into Ishan Kishan's front pad but was sliding down the leg side. Kishan then hit him for a four and a six but Starc exacted revenge by flattening his leg stump. He then came back at the death and picked up three wickets in the final over to finish with his best figures of the season.

"I haven't changed too much," he said. "It's about assessing conditions after the first innings. We certainly spoke about it and the batters that came off throughout that first innings mentioned the wicket and the lengths that were the hardest to face. That created the bowling plans for us.

"As T20 cricket doesn't always go the way you want it to go, and of course I wanted to go a bit better at the start. But I am not the only bowler going for runs. It is what it is. The fact that we sit second [on the points table] and are building towards the more important games at the back end and are playing some good cricket, hopefully I can be a part of it too."

There is just one week's gap between the IPL and the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA. But Starc is not worried about his workload.

"It's T20 cricket, it's not as demanding as Test match cricket," he said. "Physically it is not a problem and it's fantastic lead-in to play here in the best T20 league in the world. You're playing some high-quality cricket leading into the World Cup, a lot of players at this tournament are going to be at the World Cup.

"In that regard, it's a great thing to see and test your skills. In terms of length of time, that's part and parcel of international cricket. My main focus is to play in Lucknow in two days' time. The World Cup is next month - at this moment, it's [about] trying to help KKR win the tournament."

Starc expects the T20 World Cup to provide a more even contest between bat and ball, unlike the IPL where totals of over 200 have been commonplace.

"There's no Impact Player rule [in international cricket], so whether that affects the scores is yet to be seen. I think it probably will. People talk about the balance of the team when you can't just bring someone in. Your allrounders come back into play. Captains have to think a bit tactically, too, when you have just 11 players. It's been interesting to experience it first-hand in the IPL."

Starc also lauded the "exciting, young group" of fast bowlers at KKR. Harshit Rana played all games before his one-match suspension and has taken 11 wickets at an economy of 9.78. Vaibhav Arora has picked up nine wickets in six outings at 9.42.

"I am a bit more experienced and a bit older, at the same time I haven't played a lot of T20 cricket," Starc said of his interactions with them. "[So it is about] working off each other in a way.

"I am certainly not there to tell people what to do, I am happy to answer questions if they have [any] or look to lead more by example at training and get my work in. We are a pretty good group, the whole group of players and staff is awesome to be around.

"I would like to think I am approachable, so happy to train with the boys. I was training with Harshit Rana the other night, made him run extra which he wasn't happy about (laughs). But no, it's a great group and a lot of time we have a lot of fun."