This is one list Mitchell Starc will not want to be on top of. Till after Sunday’s games, no bowler had conceded as many boundaries – 44 – as the most expensive buy in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this season. Six wickets for 287 runs in seven games is a poor return from a top international bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for ₹24.75 crore to provide leadership to the pace bowling group and be the late overs bowler the franchise felt they had lacked.

So, is it time for a reset? From whirlwind powerplays, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell’s all-round efforts, everyone in the top order getting one half-century ensuring that Nitish Rana is not missed, KKR have done most things right on way to notching up five wins halfway through the league.

Therefore, would the next two home games, on Friday and April 29, be the best time to rest Starc so that he returns to doing what the world knows he is capable of? More so because Starc has said he has not “played a lot of T20 cricket in the last couple of years” and hence was taking longer than usual to make an “impact”.

On Sunday, defending 20 runs in the final over against tailenders of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Starc leaked 19, including three sixes on the off-side. When they met in Bengaluru, RCB took 16 off Starc’s and the innings’ final over. That number was 26 when Starc bowled the 19th over against Sunrisers Hyderabad here in KKR’s season-opener and 18 when he delivered the innings’ 18th against Rajasthan Royals. Starc’s economy rate between the 16-20 overs is 13.7, the fourth worst among those who have bowled a minimum of five overs at the death this term, as per cricket.com.

“It is T20 cricket, it can get brutal,” Starc had said after the win against Delhi Capitals, but clearly IPL17 has not seen the death bowling aspect of this great fast bowler who took 16 wickets, including three in the final, to help Australia win the 50-over World Cup in India a little over six months ago. The only time Starc got it right this season was against Lucknow Super Giants here when he conceded five in the 20th and took two wickets.

That Starc would back his strength fits his reputation and experience. Attempting a yorker fetched Karn Sharma’s wicket in the final over and, along with Phil Salt’s goalkeeper-like dive to effect a run-out, helped KKR win their seventh game by one run. It is equally true that as much as RCB self-destructed, it was KKR’s use of slower deliveries that led to wickets falling in clumps.

“That over from (Andre) Russell was the turning point,” said Harshit Rana at the post-match press conference. Rana was referring to the 12th over when Russell prised out the free-scoring Will Jacks (55; 32b; 4x4; 5x6) and Rajat Patidar (52; 23b; 3x4, 5x6) in four balls to derail the chase.

“Taking pace off was the key,” said Rana. “The fast delivery was being dispatched easily.” It was what RCB’s Cameron Green and even Lockie Ferguson did to slow down KKR and it was what Russell and Rana did as well. But Starc is not rolling his fingers over his deliveries often. As per Cricinfo, he has attempted 11 slower deliveries in 150 bowled so far. A repertoire of slower deliveries has been crucial for success in this IPL but unlike compatriot and SRH skipper Pat Cummins, Starc has relied on trying to be fast and accurate.

It is not the only reason Jacks attacked him successfully at the start – Starc’s economy rate in the power play is 10.8 and he is leaking 57.8 runs for a wicket in the first six overs – and Sharma at the end, but it did play a part.

“Surely, he has his own plans,” said Rana. “Could be, he thinks speed will succeed. Look, he is a great bowler and I am sure he will win us games one day. We have faith in him.”

But when, as per Rana, anything less than 200 can be difficult to defend on a ground called postage-stamp size by Graeme Swann on commentary, can KKR afford a bowler leaking over 40 runs per game? Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Shane Bond, Trent Boult and Mitchell Johnson have been some of KKR’s expensive fast bowling buys who didn’t play all the games in a season. Neither did Brett Lee and Morne Morkel who played important roles in KKR winning the title in 2012 and 2014 respectively. So, it is not as if KKR have not gone down this route.

Resting Starc could mean strengthening the batting or using Dusmantha Chameera as a straight swap. The reasons why KKR bought Starc remain valid. Only now, his form could remind KKR of their worst investment in the department of pace bowling. That was in 2009 when Mashrafe Mortaza, bought for $600,000, 12 times his base value, went for 58 runs against Deccan Chargers and wasn’t able to defend 21 runs in the 20th over. It was also the only IPL game Mortaza played.

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