Mitchell Starc reveals reason behind missing consecutive T20 World Cup matches against Afghanistan

Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc recently shared his thoughts on not being selected to play against Afghanistan in two consecutive T20 World Cup 2024 fixtures. 

Speaking on 'The Willow' podcast, Starc explained the reasoning behind the decision and reflected on the outcomes of those matches.

"No – two World Cups in a row. Just the match-up, they saw previous games on that ground in St Vincent with spin playing a part and obviously Ash and the left-armer enticing them to make a change. I think Ash bowled pretty well in the power play. They probably played the spin quite well and batting first probably assessed the conditions a little bit better than we did, and had a couple of stumbles that in the end cost us the game," Starc said.

Reflecting on the broader tournament, Starc noted, "We finished ahead of England and end up where we were pre-seeded as the second side. All of a sudden, you’re in a different group. The argument was it was because it was so hard to get around the West Indies, so fans knew where your team was playing." 

Starc also critiqued the scheduling of the tournament, suggesting an alternative approach to improve team preparation and fan experience.

"So then why don’t you have the chock-a-block tournament at the front … and then spread it out at the back end? We had the two night games and the third was a day game, so it wasn’t the best preparation. We had a delayed flight out of St Vincent, it was a 90-minute drive from the airport to the hotel in St Lucia, and then we had a 10 o’clock," he concluded.