Defending Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have retained six players ahead of the 2025 auction, including Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, and Ramandeep Singh. Notably, KKR released their star fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who became the costliest buy in IPL history in 2024.
Starc expressed surprise at not being retained, stating that he had not received any communication from the franchise. He acknowledged that franchise cricket is unpredictable and that all players, except for the Hyderabad duo of Pat Cummins and Travis Head, will be available in the auction.
Meanwhile, Starc has achieved a significant milestone in his international career, becoming the fastest bowler to reach 100 ODI wickets in Australia. He surpassed legendary compatriot Brett Lee’s record by achieving the feat in just 54 innings. Starc’s impressive performance in the first ODI against Pakistan, where he took three wickets for 33 runs, contributed to his achievement.
In the match, Pakistan struggled to build partnerships, with only skipper Mohammed Rizwan and Babar Azam managing significant scores. Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi provided some resistance, but Australia’s bowlers, led by Starc, restricted Pakistan to 203/10.
In response, Australia lost early wickets but recovered through an 85-run partnership between Steve Smith and Josh Inglis. Pakistan’s bowlers fought back, but Cummins’ unbeaten 32 guided Australia to victory with over 16 overs to spare. Starc was named ‘Player of the Match’ for his bowling performance, and Australia took a 1-0 lead in the series.
