Sydney, Sep 7: Australia’s left-arm pace spearhead Mitchell Starc said he is eyeing a return to the IPL next year, calling the tournament as ideal preparation ahead of the Men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA in June.
Starc last played in the IPL for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 2015 edition of the competition and had to pull out of IPL 2018 for the Kolkata Knight Riders due to injury, but gave the competition a miss in the last few years to focus on his bowling workload and giving his best for the Australian team in international cricket.
“Look it’s been eight years. I’m definitely going back in (next) year. Amongst other things, it’s a great lead-up to the T20 World Cup. So a good opportunity to see if anyone’s interested in the IPL, then lead into the T20 World Cup.”
“And it’s somewhat of a quiet winter next year…in comparison to this winter, so I think a perfect opportunity to put my name in,” said Starc to the Willow Talk Cricket Podcast about his return to IPL plan.
Overall, Starc made 27 appearances in two seasons for RCB in the IPL. The left-arm pacer is currently sidelined with a groin strain, forcing him to miss ODI series in South Africa. Starc is scheduled to be fit in time for Australia’s ODI series in India and the subsequent World Cup.
He also expressed his wish to play 100 Tests for Australia, with Starc currently at 82 caps. “Not just get to 100, I’d like to be good enough to be picked for 100 Tests. And then the big one obviously in a couple of weeks is the World Cup, which in India just goes to another level.”
“And then you look at the one-day format, it’s sort of four years in between World Cups, so where do I see myself in that mix? But I’ve got to get to the end of this World Cup first. But we’ve got some superstars coming through. You’ve got your Jhye Richardsons, your Sean Abbotts, your Spencer Johnsons.”
“You’ve got plenty of young guys coming through. (Lance) Morris is going to be a gun. I try not to look too far ahead with anything. Obviously, we want to do well in the World Cup. Then we’ve got five Test matches here in Australia and then I haven’t actually played a Test in New Zealand, so hopefully I’m on that tour and look forward to that challenge as well,” he concluded. (IANS)
