I'd consider it, says Mitchell Starc on prospect of playing IPL 2020 if it's held in October

The fate of the 2020 T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in Australia in the month of October and November, is yet to be decided in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic but recent media reports have strongly suggested that we are moving towards the postponement of the mega event.

Even the CEO of Cricket Australia (CA), Kevin Roberts, recently in a media interaction said that the schedule of the upcoming world event is under "very high risk".

File image of Mitchell Starc. AFP

“We have been hopeful all along that it could be staged in October-November but you would have to say there’s a very high risk about the prospect of that happening,” Roberts said on Friday.

While suspense continues to loom large over ICC's decision on the World Cup, the possibility of the postponement of the tournament has somewhat comes as a good and bad news for cricket fans in India. On one hand, India fans would be disappointed not to see their national team fight it out for another world trophy but on the other hand they are excited with the news that the 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), which was supposed to start in March this year, could be held in the gap left by postponement of T20 World Cup in the international calendar.

And such an adjustment in the cricket calendar could see star Australian pacer Mitchell Starc taking part in the cash-rich T20 league after a gap of five years. While the top cricketers in the world every year look forward to showcasing their talent in the IPL, Starc has continuously maintained a distance from the league. He last featured in the tournament in 2015 playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He was forced to withdraw his name from 2018 edition due to an injury despite being picked by Kolkata Knight Riders and opted out of the 2019 and 2020 editions.

But an extended break due to the coronavirus pandemic means, Starc is ready to consider playing in IPL this year considering teams are allowed to sign new players due to change in the schedule.

"I'd consider it, I'd think about it," Starc was quoted as saying by website cricket.com.au. "Obviously it'd be right at the start of our domestic season as well so it'd be a fair bit to consider. But I don't currently have a contract, so I currently don't have to worry."

Starc also added that he would not have an issue if CA allows top Australian players to miss some part of the domestic season to play in the IPL. If the T20 league is held in place of the World Cup, it's bound to clash with Australia's domestic season, however, to what extent is not known currently.

"There's a lot of things that would have to go into that I assume ... Cricket Australia would have to clear those guys so if they're clear to go, I don't see a problem with it," Starc said. "They're pre-existing contracts and they would have been playing anyway. There's obviously a different hurdle of domestic cricket there. It'd be an interesting decision, not one I'd have to make, so I'll let them make their decisions."

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