For the third consecutive year, Australia pacer Mitchell Starc decided against entering the IPL auction. Given that India will be staging this year’s T20 World Cup, many expected Starc to be one of the aspirants to get an IPL contract. But the left-arm pacer followed the trend and once again decided against participating in the league. Speaking to Cricket.com.au, Starc, who is currently plying his trade for New South Wales (NSW) in the Sheffield Shield, talked about his decision to skip IPL and said that he wants to play “as much Shield Cricket” as he could.
“I wanted to play as much Shield cricket as I could. Managing a few little things with the body and wanting to play as much red-ball cricket as I could with certain guys heading off to the IPL, it was my intention to be the constant in the Shield team and hopefully play role there as a senior head in the team,” he told Cricket.com.au.
“It has been a gruelling summer for most people, whether you’ve been in different hubs and bubbles or started back in August, everyone’s doing the best they can.”
Starc’s absence has seen other Australian pacers making big gains over the years. In 2020, Pat Cummins emerged as the costliest pick in the auction as he joined Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 15.5 crore. This year, capped pacer Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith bagged contracts with Rs 14 crore and 8 crore, respectively, with Punjab Kings.
Starc has only played 2 seasons of IPL – for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He has scalped 34 wickets in 27 matches and is still RCB’s eighth-highest wicket-taker. Starc bagged a contract worth Rs 9.4 crore with Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2018 but had to pull out due to an injury suffered on the South Africa tour a few weeks before the start of the season.
Since he isn’t part of IPL, Sttarc will get much-needed rest after the end of the domestic season.
