It is a no-brainer that franchise leagues have had an impact on international cricket. Time and again, we saw players prioritizing league cricket over national duty. For instance, recently the Irish player Josh Little preferred the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the series against Pakistan even though his team was already knocked out of the rich-cash league.
In contrast, English players like Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone, left the league (IPL) midway to join the national side to play a four-match T20I series against Pakistan.
Nevertheless, after winning the IPL title with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Australia’s lanky pacer, Mitchell Starc hinted that he might drop off one of the formats to play more franchise cricket.
Starc was on song in the Qualifier 1 and final, as he played a starring role, in KKR’s victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The 34-year-old missed out on IPL, in his peak years, as he dedicated his prime years to Australian Cricket. While talking to the presser, after KKR vanquished SRH to win their third title in the league, Starc hinted at playing franchise cricket religiously.
“The last nine years, I’ve prioritised Australian cricket. I have given myself a chance to give my body a break and spend some time away from cricket with my wife as well, so that’s certainly been where my head’s been for the last nine years,”
It was the third season of the pacer in the IPL, as previously he has featured for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the year 2014 and 2015, respectively.
What’s most surprising is the pacer has only played 137 T20s despite making his debut in the year 2009. It also shows how handsomely he managed his roles in international and league cricket.
The Sydney-born further said that the next year’s ODI World Cup is far away so packing his bags from ODIs will open the doors for more franchise cricket.
“Moving forward… look, I am certainly closer to the end of my career than the start. One format may drop off. There is a long time before the next one-day World Cup and whether that format continues for me or not… it may open doors for more franchise cricket.
Starc, who was the most expensive buy in the IPL auction, as KKR roped in for INR 24.75 crore (US$2,982,000 approx.), had a below-standard start in the IPL. He remained wicketless in the first two games, and conceded 100 runs.
Nevertheless, he picked his form at the right time, getting into the groove, in the playoffs, taking 3 for 34 and 2 for 14 against SRH in the qualifier 1 and final.
The left-arm pacer also admitted that this form will also help him heading in the T20 World Cup, which is set to begin on 2nd June, in the USA and West Indies.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this season. It’s been great, it leads into the World Cup, that’s the other side of the benefit of being here against some amazing players in an amazing tournament. It’s a great lead-up to a World Cup”
