Mitchell Starc reveals the reason behind skipping this year’s IPL

Australian left-arm paceman Mitchell Starc has revealed that he has decided to give IPL 2021 a miss so that he can take part in the Sheffield Shield Trophy for New South Wales.

Mitchell Starc represented the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014 and 2015 but hasn’t featured in the IPL since. The 31-year-old has 34 IPL scalps to his name at a strike rate of 17.05.

Speaking to cricket.com.au, Mitchell Starc explained that he is keen to play the role of a senior head for NSW in the Sheffield Shield Trophy.

“I wanted to play as much Shield cricket as I could. Managing a few little things with the body and wanting to play as much red-ball cricket as I could with certain guys heading off to the IPL, it was my intention to be the constant in the Shield team and hopefully play the role there as a senior head in the team," said Starc.

With the T20 World Cup coming up in India later in the year, many pundits feel that the IPL will be a good platform for the players to gauge their preparedness for the mega event.

England captain Eoin Morgan recently said that the players from his team are keenly looking forward to the IPL with an eye on the T20 World Cup.

We've never seen anything quite like NSW being bowled out for 32 either, Matthew Wade! 😲😲😲#SheffieldShield | @MarshGlobal pic.twitter.com/gBCyYYojSJ

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) March 22, 2021

"Want to be a part of the group to win the Shield" - Mitchell Starc

Even as a number of his Australia teammates will be plying their trade for various IPL franchises soon, Mitchell Starc’s aim is to play in the Sheffield Shield final and, hopefully, win it.

“I haven’t played in a Shield final yet, I’d love to help the boys get there and take part and hopefully be a part of the group to win the Shield. That was my first intention. I’ve played three formats for a long time, and I find my game plan doesn’t change too much across the formats but still, Shield and Test match cricket is the pinnacle for me,” Mitchell Starc said.

With five games to play before next month's #SheffieldShield final, we’ve broken down the title hopes of each of the six teams https://t.co/YdwWQk5IE0

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) March 22, 2021

The Aussie pacer has so far claimed 15 wickets in five Sheffield Shield matches for New South Wales, who are currently second in the points table.