The money’s nice, but I’d love to play 100 Test matches: Mitchell Starc on IPL ahead of the World Test Championship final

Australia’s Mitchell Starc prepares to bowl during a training session at The Oval cricket ground in London on Monday, June 5, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Star Australian pacer Mitchell Starc said he has been sitting out the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a long time so as to prolong his international career and represent his country in 100 Test matches.

A member of the 2015 ODI World Cup–winning team and the 2021 T20 World Cup–winning side, Starc will be looking to add another ICC event to his name when he turns out for Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India at The Oval in London on June 7.

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“To choose not to do certain things to prolong playing for Australia — I’ve tried to be smart about that,” said Starc, who has played only two editions of the IPL for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), speaking to 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.”

The 33-year-old left-arm pacer has so far appeared in 77 Tests, taking 306 wickets at an average of 27.52 since making his debut in 2011. He also played 110 ODIs and 58 T20s, snapping 219 and 73 wickets respectively.

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“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 airspeed, 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.”

Starc had received a lot of criticism for his unflattering performance in the last few years with the late Shane Warne even questioning his place in the team. “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.

“If that’s what people think, that’s what they think … if I’m the whipping boy sometimes, that’s fine. I’m certainly more comfortable in my own skin. Perspective is everything and one of the biggest contributors to perspective is going through those tough times,” he added.