"The money's nice, but I'd love to play 100 Test matches" - Mitchell Starc on opting out of IPL on a regular basis
Australian pacer Mitchell Starc has shed light on his long-term decision to skip the Indian Premier League (IPL) to focus solely on playing international cricket. He has only played two editions of the IPL for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), with his last appearance coming in 2015.
While his fellow Australian teammates have been a constant presence in the IPL over the years, Starc has diverted his attention to representing his nation across formats. He could be among the rare breed of players to win ICC titles in all formats if he finds success with the Aussies in the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final against India.
Starc has expressed his desire to hit the three-figure mark in terms of appearance in Test cricket.
"To choose not to do certain things to prolong playing for Australia, I've tried to be smart about that," Starc told cricket.com.au. "Yeah, the money's nice, but I'd love to play 100 Test matches. Whether I get there or not, I don't know, but that would be a nice one to tick off. Hopefully, there's a little bit left in me."
Since making his Test debut in 2011, the left-arm pacer has made 77 appearances in the longest format so far. He has taken 306 wickets at an average of 27.52 and is expected to play a huge role in the high-profile clash against India for the coveted WTC title.
Acknowledging that he will know when to hang up his boots, Starc said:
"To play three formats for over 10 years, it's been a lot of pain along the way, but I'm grateful I've gotten that far. Whilst I've tried to add to the bow, as soon as I lose air speed, there's going to be someone chasing me. Once that next left-armer is coming through, yeah, I'm sure I'll know when I know."
Australia have built a good set of backup bowlers in Tests in the form of Jhye Richardson, Michael Neser, Scott Boland, and Lance Morris. However, there is still a gulf between the aforementioned set of candidates and experienced campaigners like Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood.
"Media criticism might have bothered me a few years ago" - Mitchell Starc
Mitchell Starc often came under criticism during his patch of poor form. His place in the Australian side was consistently questioned by the late Shane Warne during his broadcast duties, which was a subject of intense interest across the cricketing world.
Starc admitted that he deals with criticism with a much healthier attitude.
"That (media criticism) might have bothered me a few years ago, but I've certainly settled on a happy place where it doesn't bother me anymore," he said.
Starc will be seen in action in the upcoming WTC final as well as the Ashes in a drawn-out English summer for Australia.
Will the pacer end up with over 100 Test match appearances? Let us know what you think.