The Indian Premier League Franchise (IPL), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has roped in English pacer Tom Curran as Mitchell Starc’s replacement. Starc had suffered a tibial bone stress in his right leg during Australia’s third Test against South Africa. KKR has bought Curran for his base price of INR 1 cr as opposed to Starc’s INR 9.4 Cr. This is the third successive year that Starc will not be able to feature in the cash-rich league.
![curran](https://cricshots.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Tom-Curran.jpg)
According to Surrey’s press release, Curran said: “I’m thrilled and excited to be joining Kolkata Knight Riders for the IPL. I know from chatting to other players I can learn a lot from being in that environment, skills that I hope will benefit Surrey and my chances of representing England again this year and if selected, for next year’s World Cup.”
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Alec Stewart, the former England captain who is the director of cricket at Surrey, said: “Losing Tom to the IPL for the first part of the season is not ideal from a Surrey viewpoint. The experience he will gain through playing in the IPL can only help develop his game which in turn will give England a greater chance of winning the 2019 World Cup. His absence from the Surrey team will allow other players on our staff to stand up, perform and grab their opportunity.”
![mitchell](https://cricshots.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/starc.jpg)
In his international career, Curran has played 6 T20Is claiming 7 wickets. He plays in Natwest T20 Blast for Surrey and has 50 scalps to his name from 53 innings. With the kind of pace and bounce he generates from a pitch, it seems to be a like-for-like replacement from KKR. He made his Test debut during the Ashes last December and has played two Tests, eight ODIs as well.
Also read: KKR To Miss Big Names This Season
Dinesh Karthik-led KKR will face Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore in their first match of IPL 2018 on Sunday (April 8).