Starc hits his stride in India

Mitchell Starc says he never at any stage was distracted or pressured by the growing noise around him after the IPL’S $4m man delivered his best return after a slow start to the tournament.

Before a three-wicket haul for his Kolkata Knight Riders in a big win over the Lucknow Super Giants at Eden Gardens, Starc had only two wickets in four matches this season, with an average of 77 and economy rate of 11.

But the Australian star said his bubble was never breached by the growing din and the nature of T20 meant he was always going to get his chance to shine.

“I don’t read anything, so that doesn’t bother me,” he said after snaring 3-28.

“I haven’t played a lot of T20 cricket in the last couple of years, so it has probably taken me a little bit longer than I would have liked to get back into the rhythm of things and make a better impact, so today was nice in that regard.”

Starc has opted against playing in the IPL for the best part of a decade, but chose to take part in the competition this year ahead of the T20 World Cup that begins just six days after the IPL ends on May 26.

The 34-year-old is set to play a key role for Australia and said despite his big pay cheque in India he’d be monitoring his workload closely.