NEW DELHI: Mitchell Starc remains “heavily committed” to Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, but admitted that “time will tell the repercussions” of his decision not to return for the remainder of the tournament, unlike some of his Australian teammates. The pacer opted out of the IPL’s resumption on May 17, following a 10-day break triggered by Operation Sindoor — a military response to Pakistan-backed terrorists killing 26 civilians in Pahalgam.Starc, who played a key role in Delhi Capitals’ bowling attack with 14 wickets in 11 games, last featured in the May 8 clash against Punjab Kings in Dharamsala. That match was abandoned after the stadium lights went out abruptly.
His wife and Australia Women’s team captain Alyssa Healy was also present at the stadium when the match was halted and an urgent evacuation was ordered due to Dharamsala’s proximity to the international border.Starc revealed he had apprehensions before taking the field in that game between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings amid growing tensions.“I’m comfortable with my decision and how I felt about the whole situation and how it was handled,” Starc was quoted as saying by The Age.“That’s why I made my decision post-that, and my focus changed to red-ball cricket for about a week prior to coming over here (the UK).”“Time will tell with repercussions or how it looks with guys that didn’t return. But I’ve had my questions and concerns leading into that game, and obviously we saw what happened, which played a part in my decision,” he said.Citing similar concerns, Starc had earlier chosen not to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy with the Australian squad.“There was a little bit of that to my decision around the Champions Trophy (in Pakistan) and then once the tournament (IPL) was delayed, you start to think about guys’ preparation for the Test match,” he said, referring to Australia’s upcoming World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s starting June 11.
Starc also pointed out that the situation in Dharamsala was handled differently across teams and individuals. Both teams and the broadcast crew were evacuated to Delhi from Pathankot via a special train.“Things were handled differently for different players and different teams, the guys up in Dharamsala, the Punjab guys were part of that, and while both teams had similar experiences up there, all those guys returned for Punjab, and Jake (Fraser-McGurk) and I chose not to,” he said.“It was a very individual decision, and I’m happy to live with whatever comes of that.”“I’m still heavily committed to the Delhi group, and I’m not someone that’s gone into tournaments and pulled out after being picked up in an auction or whatever that looks like. These are different circumstances,” he added.Starc, who was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders’ title-winning campaign last season, also explained that a lack of clarity contributed to his decision to skip the second half of the season.“It was more a question of not having enough information leading into making a decision (about) things of that degree. I had a discussion back home then came to a decision, and whatever comes from that I’m comfortable with that and we move forward,” he said.
