It cost the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) almost Rs 10 lac per delivery that Mitchell Starc bowled in IPL 2024. The Australian pacer made his return to the cash-rich league after a wait of eight IPL seasons and looked ordinary for most of the season. But when the all-important playoffs came, Starc unleashed his beast mode. His regular strikes in Qualifier 1 and final were paramount in KKR winning their third IPL title.
IPL 2025: KKR won’t miss Mitchell Starc
But signed at Rs 24.75 crore at the IPL 2024 mini auction, KKR had to release him. They retained their core group and did their best to re-sign former players. Venkatesh Iyer was swooped in for a whopping Rs 23.75 crore but Starc went to the Delhi Capitals (DC) for Rs 11.75 crore. But KKR love to have overseas pacers in their mix. Following the IPL 2025 mega auction, a question begged: who will replace Mitchell Starc at KKR? Well, the answer is another tall left-arm Australian quick. While the Knight Riders did sign Anrich Nortje for Rs 6.50 crore, his injury struggles and expensive economy (13.36) at IPL 2024 raise huge worries.
Here come’s Spencer Johnson, who has been wreaking havoc since some time now. He is in a similar mould to Starc but a more versatile T20 bowler. Johnson relies more on his bounce and variations, time and again asking batters some tough questions. Johnson gained traction among Indians when the Gujarat Titans (GT) swooped in almost Rs 9.50 crore for him in the IPL 2024 auction. But he was released before KKR bought Johnson for Rs 2.80 crore.
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Spencer Johnson: Remember the name!
The 29-year-old was the highest wicket-taker in the T20I series against Pakistan, claiming eight wickets at an unreal average of 9.87 and at a strike rate of 6.87. He then played a first-class game for South Australia, where Johnson bagged a two-fer and a three-fer before he sustained an injury. His toe injury forced him to miss the first two Big Bash League (BBL) games for Brisbane Heat.
But, oh boy, he made a dramatic return! In his comeback game against a strong Perth Scorchers side, Johnson started with a wicket-maiden. The southpaw then leaked just three runs before coming again in the later overs. In the 15th and 18th overs, Johnson claimed three huge wickets of Cooper Connolly, Ashton Turner, and Ashton Agar. This is an incredible sign for KKR, as Johnson would be a much-needed left-arm angle for them, something that is massively missing for them otherwise.
Johnson boasts an impressive T20 record, having claimed 75 wickets in 61 matches at an average of 21.41 and an economy rate of 7.64. This includes a notable four-wicket haul, his second in the format, and a five-wicket haul. Notably, 14 of his T20 wickets have come while representing Australia, at a commendable average of 17.07.
Probable Best XI for KKR for IPL 2025
| Position | Player | Alternates Option |
| 1 | Sunil Narine | |
| 2 | Quinton de Kock (wk) | Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk) |
| 3 | Ajinkya Rahane | Angkrish Raghuvanshi |
| 4 | Venkatesh Iyer | |
| 5 | Rinku Singh | |
| 6 | Andre Russell | |
| 7 | Ramandeep Singh | |
| 8 | Harshit Rana | |
| 9 | Varun Chakravarthy | |
| 10 | Vaibhav Arora | |
| 11 | Spencer Johnson | Anrich Nortje |
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