Photo: Mitchell Stark (ANI)
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who stayed away from the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a large part of his prime to prioritise playing for Australia, is now considering dropping one format from his career and believes it might open the door to more franchise cricket.
“For the last nine years, I've made Australian cricket my priority. I've given myself the opportunity to rest physically, to spend time with my wife away from cricket, so my mind has definitely been on that for the last nine years,” Starc said.
“Going forward… look, I am closer to the end of my career than the beginning. One format might be gone. There is a long time until the next One-Day World Cup and whether that format continues for me or not… it might open the door to more franchise cricket,” he said, hinting at quitting 50-over cricket.
This was Starc's third full appearance in the IPL after stints with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2014 and 2015. With IPL 2024 acting as a prelude to the T20 World Cup which begins on June 1, most overseas T20 stars were keen to take part and, as expected, the Australian left-arm fast bowler was no exception.
“I've really enjoyed this season, it's been a great season and it's got the added benefit of leading into the World Cup and playing against great players in a great tournament. It's great preparation for the World Cup,” Starc said.
“I'm not sure what the exact schedule will be next year but it's been fun and I'm looking forward to returning next year and hopefully being seen in the purple and gold (KKR colours) again,” he added.
Starc, who was heavily criticised for his below-par performances despite being shelled out a massive Rs 247.5 crore at the auction, came into his own in the final stages of the IPL, taking a total of 17 wickets, including five in the two knockout games, to lead KKR to a commanding title win on Sunday.
However, the Australian, who made his international debut in 2009, was unfazed by such criticism and said, “I have played a lot of cricket so I know how to control myself. I haven't played much T20 cricket in the last few years so for me it was about finding the rhythm of the T20 format and trying to stay ahead of the batsmen.”
