Dubai: The upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) VIII will be high on the Australian quotient once again - though fans will have to wait for a while to catch the World Cup’s Player of the tournament in action. Mitchell Starc, who captured 22 wickets in the showpiece and plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), has been grounded by a left knee niggle for at least two to three weeks.
“Mitchell had some knee soreness during the latter stages of the World Cup,” Australia team physio Alex Kountouris said on the board’s official website.
“He will have a short period off to rest and recover, before being reassessed by CA medical staff. We estimate his recovery time will be between two-three weeks.”
Starc is part of the star-studded Bangalore team which has superstars Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli - though they have never tasted success in seven previous editions. Starc’s incredible performance in Australia’s World Cup triumph saw him assume the No.1 ranked one-day international bowler mantle for the first time in his career. Starc was also awarded a lucrative Cricket Australia contract on Tuesday and named in the Test tours to the West Indies and England for the Ashes.
Meanwhile, there will be not much rest for most of the members of the world champion team as 11 of Australia’s 15-member squad members will trickle into India for the world’s biggest Twenty20 competition, the exceptions being Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Marsh and Xavier Doherty. The eight-team event starts from April 8.
There will be 25 Australian players (former and current) in the IPL this year while eight Aussies will take up coaching positions, including Ricky Ponting (Mumbai Indians), Tom Moody (Sunrisers Hyderabad) and Trevor Bayliss (Kolkata Knight Riders) who all take on roles as head coach.
The final of the IPL will be held on May 24, just five days before Australia’s first and only tour match in the lead up to the first Test against the West Indies on June 5 in Dominica.
Should the second Test in Jamaica go the distance, the Test squad will have only eight days to acclimatise to English conditions before their first tour match against Kent takes place in Canterbury on July 25.
Starc was on the last Ashes tour to England in 2013, playing in three Tests without recording consecutive appearances. But allrounder Shane Watson says Starc’s epic performance in the World Cup is close to transitioning to red ball cricket.
“It’s incredible to see how well he has bowled in this tournament against the best batsmen in the world,” said Watson.
“It will be incredible to see him also do that in Test cricket, because that’s very close. “His confidence changed and he made a couple of adjustments in that Sydney Test match and he bowled beautifully.”
- With inputs from agencies
