New Delhi, Feb. 9 -- Venkatesh Iyer remembers a conversation he had with his Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) teammate Mitchell Starc last season. The Indian Premier League side had bid a record Rs.24.75 crore for the Australian cricketer ahead of the 2024 season, raising the inevitable doubts over how the fast bowler would justify that price tag.

"He said that 'the only thing I know is to bowl. I've been paid for that. So, I'm going to do that'," Iyer remembers Starc as saying, recollecting the Australian's words as he finds himself in a similar predicament.

Ahead of the 2025 season of the IPL, KKR bid Rs.23.75 crore for Iyer, the third highest price paid in these auctions after Rishabh Pant's Rs.27 crore (by Lucknow Super Giants) and Rs.26...