OMG! Kolkata Knight Riders axed Mitchell Starc by text message

XtraTime Web Desk: Star Australian pacer Mitchell Starc has been released by its Indian Premier League team Kolkata Knight Riders confirmed the Aussie pacer on Wednesday.

KKR bought Starc with a big amount of 9.40 crore earlier this year’s auction but he didn’t feature in the team after he got a leg injury during the test series against South Africa and was ruled out from IPL.




“I got a text message two days ago from the owners of Kolkata saying I’ve been released from my contract, so at the moment I’ll be home in April,” Starc said in Sydney.

“It’s an interesting one. As far as I’m aware everyone’s on one year at the moment [with Cricket Australia]. It’s a bit of a changing time with people at CA and that’s a better question for those behind the scenes with CA with what they want to do with contracting.




“For us we’re not so worried about contracts at the moment, it’s about performing on the field and that will take care of the rest of it come contract time whenever that is,” the left-arm pacer said.

England’s Tom Curran replaced Starc in the team who was bought for Rs 1.62 crore from the Registered and Available Player Pool (RAPP) list.




Starc meanwhile, said that although the IPL remains a lucrative opportunity for cricketers, his preference has always been playing Test cricket for Australia and wants to play as much red-ball cricket as possible.

“I’m sure it would [provide security] for a lot of people, it’s probably no different to working life outside of the sporting field. When you look at some of the dollars involved in the IPL and some for the T20 leagues around the world, for guys who might be on the fringe or want to concentrate on T20 cricket, it’s very beneficial to play.




“At the moment for me I just want to play as much Test and one-day cricket as I can, and the IPL is a lovely bonus on the pay packet, but if I miss that to play more Test matches, I’m taking that option,” Starc said.




Starc has played two seasons in the IPL till now for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014 and 2015 in which he picked up 14 and 20 wickets respectively.