Big Setback For Australia; Seamer Mitchell Starc Ruled Out Of India Tour Due To Injury
Jan 31, 2019 at 1:54 PM
In the quest to achieve the mission impossible in India, Australia have been dealt with a massive blow in the name of Mitchell Starc, who has sustained a stress fracture in his foot and will miss the remaining two Tests, reported by The Canberra Times.
The left-arm fast bowler complained about sore foot during the second Test and later dropped a bomb by confirming he won’t be able to take part in the last two Test matches.
Australia, who in the second match suffered a defeat by 75 runs, have their hopes in complete disarray now with such a devastating news. Though, Cricket Australia is yet to announce his replacement, pace bowlers Pat Cummins and James Pattinson are the top contenders to replace him.
Team physiotherapist David Beakley gave further information on the news. He said the scans show that he has bothered himself with the uninvited pain and because of this, Starc will immediately head home for the rehab process.
“Mitchell experienced some pain in his right foot during the second Test in Bangalore which unfortunately had not subsided a few days after the Test as we had hoped. We made the decision to scan his foot in Bangalore this morning and unfortunately it has revealed a stress fracture. Subsequently, this means Mitchell will be unavailable for the remainder of the tour of India and will return home to Australia to start his rehabilitation.”
Mitchell Starc was crucial in Australia’s huge win over India in Pune with both bat and ball. In total, he scored 91 runs in both innings and grabbed two wickets, including that of Virat Kohli for a duck in the first innings. In the two matches played, Starc has 118 runs to his name, the third highest for Australia after Steven Smith and Matt Renshaw.
In the Bengaluru match, he showed his class by scripting India’s collapse on Day 4 After picking up Rahane, he bowled a 150 plus kmph delivery to break Karun Nair’s leg stump into two halves.
His absence is going to keep the Australian camp more worried, as their aim to finish on top of India would be in some doubt now.