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Cricket-Australia's Starc validates price tag in warning shot before World Cup

A sluggish start in the Indian Premier League put Mitchell Starc's record price under the microscope however the Australian allformats hero underlined his worth as he raised Kolkata Knight Riders to a 3rd title.

Starc, the costliest cricketer in the history of the league, was named Gamer of the Match after taking 2-14 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, including bowling opener Abhishek Sharma with an unplayable delivery that pundits evaluated the competition's best.

The efficiency followed on from his fantastic semi-final when he took three wickets and bowled Australia group mate Travis Head with the 2nd ball.

Starc started the tournament as one of its least affordable bowlers, creating headlines throughout the world that compared his $2.98 million price with his paucity of wickets.

It likewise resulted in a couple of light-hearted barbs from team mates.

None will be making fun of him now.

There have actually been plenty of jokes. A lot has actually been made of the money, said the rangy left-armer.

I am older and more experienced now, so that has aided with managing the expectations and leading the attack.

It's been a lot of enjoyable, it's been fantastic to learn and see how these guys tackle it but complete credit to the whole players and staff, it's made my life quite easy.

Starc's sensational return to form in the IPL burnishes his record in big matches and comes days before the T20 World Cup starts in the United States and the Caribbean.

The 34-year-old took three wickets in the last of last year's 50-over World Cup versus hosts India and will likely be necessary for Australia's hopes of becoming the very first country to hold cricket's 3 global prizes in tests, ODIs and T20.

Kolkata's eye-watering bid for Starc during the IPL auctions stunned the cricket world late in 2015 however it now appears to have been a master stroke.

They might have to hand over more to maintain his services in 2025.

Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins will no doubt be happier playing with Starc for Australia than against him in the IPL.

I believed they bowled wonderfully, Cummins said after Hyderabad were skittled for 113.

Sadly, my old mate Starcy turned it on once again.

Starc, Cummins and Head will link with the rest of Australia's T20 World Cup squad in the coming days ahead of their opener versus Oman next week.

Captain Mitchell Marsh stated Australia felt lucky to have world-class Starc.

He's so essential for the makeup of our team, Marsh said after training in Trinidad.

We understand that Starcy is the X-factor, and you see throughout T20 cricket nowadays it's the X-factor gamers who win you games, win you competitions.

(source: Reuters)