Pacers That Could Replace Injured Mitchell Starc At KKR In IPL 11

Injuries and Mitchell Starc go hand in hand. This is even more worse when it comes to the Indian Premier League. The Australian pacer has been ruled out of both the fourth Test against South Africa and the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018. Cricket Australia confirmed the news on Friday. This is the third successive season Starc will be missing the IPL and Kolkata Knight Riders are now in a precarious situation following the heavy blow they have been dealt with.  The 28-year-old Starc suffered a tibial bone stress fracture in his right leg and will fly home after the series for further assessment.
KKR had bought the Aussie fast bowler for an emphatic Rs 9.40 crore in the 2018 IPL auction and was hopeful that the quality player will lead their bowling attack. But now that has been quashed with Starc once again will be on the sidelines for another lengthy spell.
STARC AN UNLUCKY IPL CHARM
KKR have a relatively thin squad on paper and now need to find an able replacement for the champion bowler. Starc last played in the IPL in 2015 when he represented Royal Challengers Bangalore under skipper Virat Kohli. He suffered a foot fracture in 2016, before ending his association with RCB in 2017. Prior to that, he picked 34 wickets in two seasons.
LATEST AUSSIE TO MISS IPL 2018
Starc is the latest Australian player to join the list of injured players in IPL 2018. He joined the likes of RCB pacer  Nathan Coulter-Nile and an injury-laden Jason Behrendorff, who was purchased by Mumbai Indians. Besides these three players, David Warner and Steve Smith are also out after being banned by BCCI following their role in ball-tampering incident.
STARC’S INJURY A POOR CHAPTER
The left-arm fast bowler has been sidelined due to injuries quite often in the recent past. In fact, Starc has played just three T20Is since the 2015 IPL. This is also the third Test series in a row where Starc has missed at least one Test including the 2017-18 Ashes.
The bowler has been suffering regular foot injuries and luck has not been in his favour. This, in turn, could also be a stumbling block for the player in future IPL auction given his injuries.
Let’s look at some of the players that could replace Starc at KKR.
JUNIOR DALA (South Africa)
One of the most telling talents in the South African domestic circuit, Junior Dala rose to prominence during his side’s T20I series against India this year. The bowler ran in with a lot of passion and surprised Rohit Sharma on all three occasions. He ended up with seven wickets in three matches with the best figure of 3/35.
The right-arm pacer’s energy and raw pace is a delight to watch and he could boost KKR ranks. Earlier, it was reported that Virat Kohli is impressed with Dala and wanted him to be a part of the RCB side. The 28-year-old could be a vital recruit this time after he missed out on the auction in January.
TOM CURRAN (England)
The English pacer is an entity to watch for the future. He comes with a dearth of talent and prowess and showed his mettle in the limited overs format for England this year. The 23-year-old is an excellent death bowler and can be quite handy upfront with the new ball.
He has seven wickets in six T20Is for England and has some excellent yorkers up his sleeves. He was one of the English players to miss out at the Bengaluru auction and now KKR can present him with a chance to showcase his skills. He could go on to become a vital cog under the guidance of seniors Mitchell Johnson and Vinay Kumar.
MORNE MORKEL (South Africa)
The Proteas pacer is about to say goodbye to international cricket and is playing his final Test match for South Africa against Australia. Morkel has been a crucial player for KKR in the past under Gautam Gambhir and he could once again come in and show his mettle.
Morkel is also in great form with the ball as he recently took 9 wickets in the third Test against the Aussies. He is fit and his recent attributes can ignite KKR’s challenge in IPL 11. The experienced Morkel has 77 wickets in 70 matches in the cash-rich global T20 league.