Kolkata Knight Riders replaced Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc with Sri Lanka seamer Dushmantha Chameera for the game against Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens on Friday. KKR captain Shreyas Iyer said at the toss that Starc had cut his finger during their previous match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
KKR fielding coach Ryan ten Doeschate later confirmed that the fast bowler was "very close to being back".
"Starcy caught his finger in one of his studs in the last game," he said in the post-match press conference. "It's abrased on his bowling finger, he's obviously releasing from that finger and we just thought with that and Dushy [Chameera] being pretty fresh and ready to go that we give Dushy a game and give Starcy a chance to sort his finger out.
"But as far as I know, he is very close to being back, which will either be the next game or the game after that."
Coming into the season, having been bought at the auction for a record sum of INR 24.75 crore (USD 2.98 million approx.), Starc has had a forgettable campaign so far with KKR. He has managed just six wickets while conceding runs at 11.48 per over.
Against RCB at Eden Gardens, Starc was given the last over. He had to defend 21, and No. 9 Karn Sharma facing up. But he was hit for three sixes by Karn before eventually taking a good return-catch to eventually seal the win. He ended up with figures of 1 for 55 from three overs.
That was the third time this season that Starc has gone for 50 runs or more in a game - and the second match in a row.
His best performance of the season came against Lucknow Super Giants in a day game at Eden Gardens, when he took three wickets and gave away just 28 runs to help set up a comfortable victory.
Starc is playing the IPL this year after a gap of eight years. He last played in 2015 for RCB, when he took 20 wickets at an economy of 6.76.
Starc was interviewed at the ground on Friday ahead of the game against Kings, but he did not mention anything about his finger niggle. He spoke of coming back to the IPL after the long break, and what he's learning from the experience. "Yeah coming back, obviously a different team to where I was last in the IPL, so getting to meet a lot of the guys I have played against a little bit... Some younger guys in the KKR squad, getting to know a few of the younger bowlers," he said. "There's a lot of talent around with bat and ball.
"[I'm] getting to know how these guys go about it and learn from them as well, and try and answer any questions they've got. I've come back an older player than when I was last in the IPL, but it's a lot of fun."
For Chameera, this will be his first appearance of the season. It's his second proper go at the IPL: he was part of RCB in 2021 but didn't get a game, and played 12 games for Lucknow Super Giants in 2022.