"I don't know what the dynamic of that line-up is going to be" - Mitchell Starc on bowling combination and workload after Cameron Green's injury
Australia pacer Mitchell Starc assessed the team's bowling plans after all-rounder Cameron Green picked up an injury that has ruled him out of the entire home season. Green sustained the blow during the England tour and has opted to undergo surgery, leaving Australia a bit lopsided in terms of balance.
While Australia have another pace-bowling all-rounder in Mitchell Marsh in the playing XI, he has bowled on a sporadic basis since his red-ball return. This leaves the majority of the bowling workload on Australia's famous quartet of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Starc, and Nathan Lyon. Rotation will also be in focus, with the team having built a solid backup pool of pacers, comprising Scott Boland and Michael Neser, among others.
Without the luxury of the additional bowling option, it is up to the frontline bowlers to share the workload among themselves.
"It will always change the dynamic when you take a genuine allrounder like a Cameron Green, or with England when you take a Ben Stokes, out. When you have that genuine allrounder who has been part of a group for a while ... you get into a bit of a routine of having that extra bowling option. I don't know what the dynamic of that line-up is going to be, there is a lot of talk around that opening spot and Mitch [Marsh] bowling as well," Starc told AAP (via ESPNCricinfo).
"It's not completely foreign. We've had series in the past where we haven't had an allrounder at all. We've had to take some of that workload, and Gaz [Nathan Lyon] has probably had to bowl a bit extra as well," he added.
Starc is part of the New South Wales squad for the upcoming second-round clash against Victoria in the 2024-25 Sheffield Shield. The left-arm pacer is accompanied by national teammates Steve Smith and Nathan Lyon as they commence preparations for the Border-Gavaskar series.
"If you have four or five Tests that go four days, the extra day between games can be important" - Mitchell Starc on pacers' workload management
It will be a tall ask for the aging pace trio of Starc (34 years old), Cummins (31), and Hazlewood (33) to be a part of all five Tests against India, bringing rotation to the fore. Australia have faced similar situations in the past, where the backup pacers have stepped up in case of niggles to the first-team pacers.
"That's been the mindset for a number of years now, with overseas tour or a home series and the mentality of how gruelling a summer or series can be. It's been spoken about, if you have four or five Tests that go four days, the extra day between games [can be important]. There is obviously a big gap between the first and second Test and the third and fourth Test. That may play a part as well," Starc explained in the same interview.
The Border-Gavaskar series will begin from November 22 onwards at the Optus Stadium in Perth.