IPL 2018: 4 players who are being badly missed by their teams

Mitchell Starc

A leg injury has kept Starc out of the IPL action.

Bought at jaw-dropping INR 9.4 crores, Starc was slated to be KKR’s lead bowler before an injury in the right leg ruled him out of IPL 2018. Given his pace, and ability to swing the ball, Starc would have come handy in the powerplay. Moreover, his swinging, toe-crushing yorkers would have added loads of value to KKR’s death bowling.

At the moment, KKR poses no serious threat to oppositions when it comes to pace. All of their top bowling performances have come from their spinners- Narine, Chawla, and Kuldeep. Among the pair of foreign players (Johnson and Curran) they have sought as a replacement for Starc in their playing XI, none has been up to the mark. Curran and Johnson have been too expensive. KKR lacks a pacer who can be their go-to bowler at the death. They have been able to make up for Starc's absence in the powerplay but, at the death they have missed him for sure. As KKR take the field next time, knowing that they can’t afford to lose, Starc’s absence will hit them even harder.