'I spoke to George Bailey at length' - Mitchell Starc breaks silence on being left out from T20 WC game against Afghanistan

The omission of Mitchell Starc from Australia’s squad in their last Super 12 game against Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup was shocking, considering that the Kangaroos needed a big win on that night. In his absence, the Aussies won the match by four runs which were not enough for them to qualify fot the next round. Starc, who picked up three wickets in the eighth edition of the tournament was frustrated by that decision and recently revealed of having a meeting with the chairman of selectors, George Bailey about the same. 

Even though the 32-year-old didn’t reveal the details of the meeting but mentioned having a lengthy chat with the former cricketer. The speedster also opened up about his plans related to his future in T20I cricket.

“George and I have spoken and that is where it will stay. I had strong opinions on it and had a conversation, and that's where it is. I spoke to George at length, it was a good conversation. Many different things were floated there,” Starc said about being benched against Afghanistan as quoted by ICC website.

“I still have ambitions to play T20 cricket for Australia but it is a long time to the next one and a lot of water to go under the bridge. So we will face that when we get to that,” the speedster added on his future in T20I cricket.

Starc reveals the reason for missing IPL over the years

Despite being one of the modern-day greats, Starc is one such player who always opts out from playing in the Indian Premier League. The Aussie pacer prefers to give his body some rest in those two months, to focus more on international cricket.

However, on the other hand, his T20I numbers are dropping and he has not been at his absolute best in the shortest format of the game for quite some time now. He agrees to the fact that playing in IPL would have helped him develop in the format but revealed how he never regrets the decision.

“It may have [hampered T20 bowling] but if I'd gone there, having no break and playing 12 months of the year, what does that affect? Do I break down? Does it affect my red-ball cricket? You can't just sit there and go 'he should go to the IPL because he'd be a better T20 bowler. What's the downside of that? Do I give away a format of the game because I'm playing 12 months of the year? In my mind, I don't regret any of those decisions not to go. I wouldn't change it,” the 32-year-old said.

“I feel like particularly last year, if I take my Test cricket from the last 12-18 months, and how that's benefited from the break that I've had through IPL periods, that's paid for itself I guess. It's always been my decision, and that is part of the reason that I do it, to give myself that break physically and mentally. And the other side of it is to see and spend time with my wife [Alysaa Healy] away from cricket. It's hard enough juggling one cricket schedule, let alone two,” he concluded.