Mitchell Starc has finished with international Twenty20 cricket. The 35-year-old left-armer, a World Cup winner in 2021, told Cricket Australia on Monday that he will not be available for next year’s T20 fixtures. Tests and the 2027 50-over World Cup, he says, now sit at the top of his to-do list.
“Test cricket is and has always been my highest priority,” Starc explained. “I have loved every minute of every T20 game I have played for Australia, particularly the 2021 World Cup, not just because we won but the incredible group and the fun along the way.”
Quick snapshot
• 65 T20Is, 79 wickets, best figures 4-20 v West Indies in 2022
• Part of Australia’s maiden men’s T20 World Cup win (UAE, 2021)
• Last appearance: 2024 World Cup in the Caribbean
Why now?
From mid-2026 Australia’s red-ball diary becomes crowded: Bangladesh at home, South Africa away, four Tests in New Zealand, five in India early in 2027, a one-off 150th anniversary match against England at the MCG, then a northern-summer Ashes. The one-day World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia follows in October-November 2027. Starc reckons the only realistic way to arrive fresh at that lot is to trim something.
“Looking ahead to an away Indian Test tour, the Ashes and an ODI World Cup in 2027, I feel this is my best way forward to remain fresh, fit and at my best for those campaigns,” he said. “It also gives the bowling group time to prepare for the T20 World Cup in the matches leading into that tournament.”
Selector George Bailey was quick to endorse the decision. “Mitch should be incredibly proud of his T20 career for Australia. He was an integral member of the 2021 World Cup winning side and, as across all his cricket, had a great skill for blowing games open with his wicket taking ability,” Bailey noted. “We will acknowledge and celebrate his T20 career at the right time, but pleasingly he remains focussed on continuing to play Test and ODI cricket for as long as possible.”
Reading between the lines
Starc has managed ankle and knee niggles for years; the shorter format can be unforgiving on fast bowlers sprinting in every second night. By stepping away now, he can tailor workloads, perhaps extend his new-ball partnership with Pat Cummins, and give Australia’s next generation of white-ball quicks—think Spencer Johnson or Xavier Bartlett—room to settle.
Immediate T20 ripple
Australia named their squad for October’s three-match series in New Zealand on the same day Starc departed. Mitchell Marsh retains the captaincy. Cameron Green stays home to play the Sheffield Shield opener, hoping to get back to full-pace bowling. Nathan Ellis will be on baby-watch, while Matt Short returns from a side strain and all-rounder Mitchell Owen is cleared after concussion. Marcus Stoinis, fresh from the Hundred, also slots back in.
Australia squad: Mitchell Marsh (capt), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Owen, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.
What next for Starc?
He is expected to feature in the first-class summer, though handle his domestic T20 commitments carefully. A short Big Bash stint could still fit, but any franchise-league offers will be weighed against rest, rehab and that looming Indian tour.
Starc’s white-ball skill set—swinging yorkers up top, cutters at the death—won Australia a trophy in 2021. His red-ball craft has already delivered 355 Test wickets. By pruning cricket’s shortest format, the fast bowler is betting he can add significantly to that tally, and maybe lift one more World Cup before it is all over.
