'I don’t regret any of it, money will come and go' - Mitchell Starc opens up on prioritising national duty over lucrative franchise competitions

The Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc remains one of the few players still active today who hasn't been involved in a franchise tournament in over eight years, regardless of whether it be in the Big Bash, the Indian Premier League, or another league. In 2014, Starc signed with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Before eventually leaving the team to concentrate on international cricket, the speedster played an integral part for RCB in the 2015 edition.

Meanwhile, India's hunt for an elusive ICC championship doesn't seem to end anytime soon as they were beaten by the Pat Cummins-led Australia by 209 runs in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final on Sunday at The Oval. India, who needed to rack up 444 runs in the second innings to win, were bowled out for 234, and Australia won the match easily.

Starc, who played a crucial role in Australia's success during the 2021-23 World Test Championship cycle seems to find solace in playing for Australia at a time when players around the world are eagerly looking forward to bagging contracts in franchise competitions around the world.

“I don’t regret any of it, money will come and go but I’m very grateful for the opportunities I’ve had. Over a hundred years of Test cricket and there’s been less than 500 men who have played it for Australia, that in itself makes it very special to be a part of it. There’s nothing I love more in cricket than to sit back with my teammates at the end of a Test win and reflect on the success we’ve had that week,” Starc was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

You need clearance from your club to go and play international sport: Starc

Starc confesses that his passion for the sport extends beyond financial gain, which is why he prefers to don the baggy green cap rather than travelling the world playing franchise cricket. He further affirmed that Test cricket is now experiencing a thrilling era with the talk of franchise cricket granting players 12-month contracts. 

“To be able to pull on the baggy green with a lot of my close mates, guys I’ve grown up in the game with. I mean, franchise cricket is great, but you can be bought or sold or traded in 12 months, whereas this is an opportunity that I’ve been fortunate enough to have over 10 years now. There’s more and more franchise cricket, and more and more talk about 12-month franchise contracts, where it would potentially be like football, where you have an international window, or you need clearance from your club to go and play international sport,” he added further.

Starc is the primary fast bowler for the current Australian side in all forms, and his remarkable efforts during the T20 World Cup in 2021 and the World Cup in 2015 significantly aided Australia's success. He will be one of the key players during the forthcoming Ashes series.