Starc reveals why he didn’t play in Champions Trophy
Mitchell Starc withdrew himself a few days before the start of the Champions Trophy. It was reported that the Australian pacer will not play due to personal reasons. Finally, the left-handed star opened up about it.
Before Starc, the other two weapons of the team’s pace attack, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, were ruled out due to injuries. Apart from these three, Australia lost Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis.
Starc spoke about his absence on the ‘Willow Talk’ podcast. He said, ‘There are a few different reasons… some personal opinions and some pain in the ankle throughout the Test series (on the Sri Lanka tour)… . So to get those things right… we have the Test Championship final ahead of us, and then the West Indies tour….’
However, Starc did not clarify whether the ‘personal opinion’ was related to the injury or something else.
Meanwhile, Australia will play South Africa at Lord’s in the Test Championship final next June. Before that, there is the IPL in India. Starc said that the franchise wants to play in this tournament as well. However, he once again claimed that the Test Championship final is at the top of his mind.
Starc said, “The IPL is also in it. However, my main focus is to keep my body in shape for the Test final, play some cricket in the next couple of months and get ready to go to the Test Championship final.”
Earlier, Starc played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the last IPL for a record Rs 24.75 crore. Although he could not meet expectations throughout the season, he laid the foundation for Kolkata’s victory with a great spell in the final. However, Kolkata released him before the auction this time. Delhi Capitals bought him in the auction for Rs 11.75 crore.
Pat Cummins has also recently started bowling in the fight to recover from his injury with an eye on the IPL. Sunrisers Hyderabad played in the final under his leadership last season. This time, the team retained him for Rs 18 crore.
Hazlewood is also likely to make a comeback in the IPL. This time, he has been bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 12.5 crore.
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