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Mitchell Starc has revealed he thought about retiring from ODIs, but ultimately chose to give up T20Is instead.
Mitchell Starc wants to focus on Tests and ODIs. (AFP Photo)
Australia’s senior pacer Mitchell Starc retired from T20Is to ‘milk’ his body as much as he can for Test cricket. He said he considered giving up one of the two limited-overs formats, but decided against ODIs because he felt that at 35, he had enough to push for a spot in the 2027 World Cup in Southern Africa.
Starc retired from T20Is out of the blue on September 2. He’ll continue to play in ODIs, Tests, and domestic and foreign competitions, but has ended his bid for the next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. By the time of the 2027 World Cup, he’d be 37. Starc has been the fittest among Australia’s pace trio, which also includes Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, but it’s rare for pacers to play a World Cup at that age.
“If I wasn’t going to be in the frame for 2027, then I didn’t want to hold up the spot,” Starc told cricket.com.au about his thought process. “I still feel like I’ve got plenty to offer that ODI team. I’d thought about it for a while. I feel like it was probably a good time. I’m 35 now, Tests have always been my priority and they will remain my priority. For lack of a better term, I want to milk my body as much as I can for as much Test cricket as possible. That was never going to be off the table,” he added.
“I just felt like one of the other formats had to give. I feel like I’ve got plenty to offer the ODI team, with that goal of getting my body to 2027 – but also being good enough to be in that team for the World Cup in 2027. I felt like this was my best opportunity to prolong my Test career and get to that World Cup,” he said.
The pacer believes that he’s leaving the T20I team in good hands with a ‘pretty settled’ pace attack.
“The T20 team seems pretty settled with the guys that have come in; they’ve done some great stuff,” Starc said. “Nathan Ellis is flying, Ben Dwarshuis has played a great role, Spencer Johnson has done some good stuff when he’s played, Sean Abbott as well. I feel like that team is in a great spot and I don’t need to interrupt that.”
September 05, 2025, 15:24 IST
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