As per reports, Mitchell Starc will be available for IPL 2024. He will use the tournament to prepare for the 2024 T20 World Cup. Here, we take a look at three popular pacers who could be released by franchises so that they can target Mitchell Starc for IPL 2024.
A lot of franchises would be in line to sign Starc. To afford him, a few teams might have to release some of the big names currently in their squad. Therefore, we could witness a few high-profile releases before the auctions.
1) Kagiso Rabada – Punjab Kings
Rabada has been expensive in IPL in recent months. With Nathan Ellis progressing well, PBKS can release Rabada. Yes, there would be too many left-arm pacers but with Starc in the setup, the attack would look more threatening.
2) Josh Hazlewood – Royal Challengers Bangalore
Josh Hazlewood is one of the popular pacers who could be released by franchises so that they can target Mitchell Starc for IPL 2024. In both seasons so far, Josh has not been available at the start for RCB. He is injury-prone and that has led to a rocky start at times for the franchise. Also, with Siraj already in the setup, RCB does not need two overseas powerplay bowlers. In this regard, they can release Josh and go for someone like Starc.
3) Lockie Ferguson – Kolkata Knight Riders
KKR hardly used an overseas pacer last season. Hence, they can release the inconsistent Lockie Ferguson and invest in someone like Starc. Since the team also does not have a reliable left-arm pacer, Starc as one of the targets for IPL 2024 seems logical. However, here it needs to noted that Starc and KKR does not have a great relationship and KKR targeting him could come down if this issue has been sorted.
