Many Aussie cricketers have joined the Indian Premier League at one time or another, eager to play T20 cricket, but also interested in gaining experience under the conditions India offers.
The concept is to be better prepared for any international play held in India, whether it be Test, or in the soon-to-be case, ODI form.
Mitchell Starc does not belong to that group.
He has not played the IPL tournament since 2015. He last played Test in India in 2017.
Starc has played 11 ODIs in Asia, but it is slightlydisingenuous to mention those in the same breath as India, where it is Sri Lanka and Pakistan representing the continent of Asia.
Starc’s figures indicate that he can adapt to pitch conditions with keen adroitness.
Of bowlers with at least 100 overs, only Rashid Khan and Mutstafizur Rahman have produced an average better than Starc’s 18.65.
Starc brings it from the left with pace, but when the conditions warrant, he can use swing to his advantage.
It would certainly be expected that India’s top three of Rohit Sharma, Skikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli will not concede anything to Starc.
Starc has one wicket from Sharma, three from Dhawan and none from Kohli and no less prominent a personage than world No, 1 batter Kohli says that the lack of recent experience in Asia would be a significant factor.
“I don’t think that not having played in India [recently] will be much of a factor for him, because he’s played a lot over here,” Kohli said.
There could be a mild edge for Starc, as he has made minor modifications to his delivery, such as he credited with his recent best-ever Sheffield Shield results.
The changes have not eluded Kohli, who is one of the better-prepared players when it comes to that sort of thing and Kohli mentioned that the greater swing Starc now delivers as delivering an advantage to Starc when he has the new ball.
The ODI series with India commences in Mumbai in just a few hours, and then moves to Rajkot and Bangalore.
