Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra said that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) likely overdependence on Mitchell Starc in the seam-bowling department and that could be a potential weakness for them in IPL 2024. However, KKR bought Starc for a massive price of ₹24.75 crore at the IPL 2024 auction.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “They have bought Mitchell Starc for such a huge price. So they will play him for sure. When you make their XI, you will have an overseas opener, and then Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, which means you can play an overseas fast bowler. You will not play Dushmantha Chameera there. You are going to play Mitchell Starc for sure. Why else would you have paid him close to 25 crores? However, there could be an over-dependence on Mitchell Starc.”

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With seven wickets at an economy rate of 11.34, Russell was KKR’s leading wicket-taker last year among the retained seamers. While the Shardul Thakur claimed seven wickets, Rana and Vaibhav Arora accounted for five dismissals apiece as well.

“He will have Harshit Rana alongside him. I like him, he has a lot of upside, but he is not a finished product yet. Andre Russell’s bowling is 50-50, as you know already. So their potential over-dependence on Mitchell Starc in fast bowling bothers me a little, that will it become a weakness?” he stated.

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“The second thing is that if Eden Gardens doesn’t have pitches that suit them, it could become a potential weakness. If the home pitches are not turning and are favourable for fast bowling, it will go against them. It happened last year with Lucknow. Gautam (Gambhir) was also there. If the same thing happens here, then he will be very disappointed. That could be a potential setback if that happens. Eden Gardens guys – prepare a turning pitch,” Aakash Chopra concluded.