Even though the focus is on the World Test Championship and the Test series between India and England, everybody has an eye on the upcoming IPL Auction which will be held on 18th February. Over 1000 players have registered for the IPL Auction and even though it is not a Mega Auction it is an important one for some of the franchises that have released a lot of players.
Most of the big overseas players have given their name for the Auction but one big name which was missing once again is Australia’s left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc. There were talks that with a T20 World Cup coming up later this year in India, Starc would participate in the IPL but as it turns out he has opted out of the biggest T20 league once again. So, let’s have a look at the four reasons why Mitchell Starc opted out of IPL 2021.
4. Chances of getting benched if performed poorly
If Mitchell Starc would have given his name there is no doubt that he would have gone for a huge price in the Auction and once you get a huge price, all the eyes will be on that player. It has happened to many players in the past who have got a huge price and then all the focus is on them.
Mitchell Starc didn’t bowl well in the India-Australia Tests and there is always a fear of failure especially in the shortest format in the best T20 league. Even if he is a great bowler there is a chance that he will get benched if he doesn’t perform well in the IPL and hence Starc might have opted out of IPL 2021.
3. Fear of losing his place in the Australian side
The Australian T20 team is having some serious competition for spots among the fast bowlers. The likes of Jhye Richardson, Jason Behrendorff, and Kane Richardson have done extremely well in the Big Bash League which will help them get a place in the T20 setup.
Most of these bowlers are travelling to New Zealand for the T20I series and so they have a chance to impress the selectors. Sometimes if you don’t perform well in the IPL your place on the national side might come into question and so Starc might not want to risk that and so he would have opted out of the IPL.
2. Bio Bubble Fatigue
Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, players have to be in bio bubbles all the time. Whenever they travel to a different country there is a fixed quarantine period in which the player is not even allowed to leave his hotel room. Even after that quarantine period, the players are only allowed to travel to the ground and back to the hotel.
They are not allowed to roam outside which can be difficult to handle. Players can get mentally stressed out and IPL is a long tournament which can lead to serious issues. The bio bubble fatigue could be one of the reasons for opting out of the IPL.
1. Workload Management
Mitchell Starc last came to play the IPL in 2015 and since then he hasn’t played the IPL. Sometimes he has been injured while at times Cricket Australia has pulled him out from the IPL to manage his workload. Cricket Australia handle Mitchell Starc with utmost care as he is an injury-prone fast bowler.
He is one of their star bowlers and they need him for the big matches like the T20 World Cup and the Ashes later this year. They might have the fear that if he plays all the 14 games in the IPL then he will get injured and won’t be available for these important games. Most of the time workload management is one of the reasons for Mitchell Starc not participating in the IPL.