Mitchell Starc eyes return to IPL after a decade out

Mitchell Starc has revealed he intends to put his hat in the ring for the Indian Premier League for the first time in a decade, having put national duties ahead of the burgeoning Twenty20 franchise circuit since 2015.

That year, Starc played 14 games for Royal Challengers Bangalore, in a nine-month period when he also played a lead role in Australia’s World Cup win, then a double tour of the West Indies and England for the Ashes series.

Mitchell Starc is considered one of the world’s most lethal white-ball bowlers.Credit: Getty

But he suffered a foot stress fracture at the end of 2015 in Adelaide, and has avoided the IPL and other T20 leagues, including Australia’s BBL ever since, foregoing a major salary bump in the process.

But in 2024 the Australian side has fewer assignments than this year, leaving Starc comfortable enough to state he hopes to sign to a franchise for a tournament that will take place ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup in the United States and Caribbean in mid-year.

“Look it’s been eight years. I’m definitely going back in [next] year,” Starc told the Willow Talk podcast. “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.”

Pat Cummins.Credit: Getty

A groin complaint is the reason Starc is presently sidelined, but he was this week selected in the provisional 15-man squad for next month’s World Cup. Captain Pat Cummins (fractured hand), Steve Smith (wrist tendon) and Glenn Maxwell (ankle) were the other players chosen under injury clouds that might prevent them playing any lead-in games to the tournament.

The quartet are all missing from the ODI series in South Africa due to start on Thursday night, meaning more than a quarter of the squad is under fitness clouds ahead of the global 50-over tournament in India.

Their absences have afforded chances for younger players Aaron Hardie, Tanveer Sangha and Nathan Ellis to flourish in the Twenty20 matches that kicked off the tour, but the selectors have remained steadfast with the established senior group.

No fewer than eight players in the 2023 World Cup 15 also featured in the 2019 tournament: Cummins, Smith, Maxwell, Starc, Alex Carey, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner and Adam Zampa. Ashton Agar, Josh Hazlewood and stand-in captain Mitchell Marsh are also long-term fixtures in the white ball set-up.

Marsh has been characterised as an option to open in place of the retired Aaron Finch, but he pointed to Warner and Travis Head as the clear candidates to face the new ball in India.

“I expect to bat middle order,” Marsh told AAP. “Things may change, but Davey is literally one of the GOATs [greatest of all time] of one-day cricket and white-ball cricket in general.

“We have Travis Head and Australia’s best-ever all-three-format player there, so I dare say I probably won’t be opening the batting.”

After Marnus Labuschagne was culled from the extended cup squad last month, he and others in South Africa will be hoping for some breakout displays to push the selectors into reconsidering the current 15.

However, in an era of stability so far as selection is concerned, injury issues are more likely to open opportunities rather than capricious decision-making.

Maxwell is the most vexing of Australia’s injury queries, as he continues to battle intermittent leg and ankle soreness following the dramatic broken leg he suffered at a friend’s birthday party last year.

“I don’t think I could have predicted how sore I was going to be once I got to South Africa,” Maxwell said at the BBL draft on Sunday night. “I think one of the tendons around my ankle was a little bit inflamed, there’s a bit of swelling, so it kept on catching which meant it just gave me a bit of pain. Hopefully, the cortisone takes care of that and I can get back up and running to where I was just before I went to South Africa.

“We’ve probably just got to be a bit smarter going forward. Making sure that my preparation is a bit more managed, I think leading into a flight like that. I’m already back in the gym, so I’ll probably get back into full training probably this week, so it won’t be a long turnaround. It’s just knowing that I’m not over the hurdle of the original injury yet.”

While none of Smith, Cummins, or Starc have serious injury concerns, their relative lack of match play before the tournament recalls some problems experienced by the team before the T20 World Cup on home soil last year, and also the lead-in to the Test tour of India earlier this year.

“Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell are on track in their return to play programs,” selection chair George Bailey said. “All are well placed to come back online in the coming weeks and potentially for selection in the upcoming series against India.

“There are eight one-day matches still to play in South Africa and India before the final squad is due to be declared. They are followed by two World Cup practice games, which offers plenty of opportunity to continue the build for the tournament.”

Provisional World Cup squad: Pat Cummins (capt), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.