Australia’s left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc has officially announced his retirement from T20 internationals. The decision comes as the 35-year-old aims to focus on Australia’s packed Test schedule and the 2027 ODI World Cup campaign.
Starc played 65 T20Is, claiming 79 wickets — the second-most by an Australian bowler in the format. His career-best figures of 4/20 came against the West Indies in 2022. He was also a crucial part of the team that lifted the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE.
Starc Prioritises Tests and ODIs
Explaining his decision, Starc made it clear that the longest format remains closest to his heart.
“𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚. 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝑻20 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑨𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒂, 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 2021 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑,” 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒄 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
From mid-2026, Australia will face a demanding calendar that includes a home series against Bangladesh, a tour of South Africa, five away Tests in India in January 2027, the 150th anniversary Test against England at the MCG, and an Ashes series in mid-2027. Later that year, the ODI World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia will demand Australia’s best.
“𝑳𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝑫𝑰 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑 𝒊𝒏 2027, 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉, 𝒇𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
Selectors Pay Tribute
Australia’s selectors praised Starc for his T20I contributions. Chair of selectors George Bailey said:
“𝑴𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑻20 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑨𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒂. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 2021 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕-𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚.”
While stepping away from T20Is, Starc will continue to be available for Tests and ODIs. His announcement coincides with Australia naming their squad for the three-match T20I series against New Zealand in October. Marcus Stoinis returns to the squad, while Nathan Ellis misses out to be present for the birth of his first child.
Also Read: Nasum, Taskin and Tanzid Shine as Bangladesh Go 2-0 Up
