Australia’s star fast bowler Mitchell Starc came up with a huge compliment for the depth of talent in Indian cricket, saying that it’s the only nation that can have three different teams playing in three different formats on the same day and still be competitive.
“I think they are probably the only nation that can have a Test team, a one-day team and a T20 team play on the same day against Australia in the Test, England in the one-dayer and South Africa in the T20I; and India will be competitive,” said Starc in a show on YouTube channel ‘FanaticsTV’.
“No other country can do that,” he added.
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Starc’s response was part of his reply to a question from the show moderator who asked if the Indian Premier League (IPL) getting bigger and bigger every year is an advantage to India in white-ball tournaments.
“I am not sure if it’s an advantage per se because as cricketers we have got these opportunities to play all franchise (cricket) around the world (but) the Indian guys can only play in the IPL,” said Starc.
“Obviously, it’s the number one product, has got all the Indians playing, so much influx of international talent. It’s at the top. There’s no doubt that it’s a huge tournament…But I don’t think you can just sit on that because you have guys (players around the world) that play 5-6 different franchise leagues a year; so they are still getting the exposure to world cricket.
“That (IPL) helps, it’s a great tournament, but obviously you have got to have talent there; and the depth in Indian cricket (is huge),” he added.
The 2025 season of the IPL begins on March 22 and Starc will be playing for the Delhi Capitals, who bought him for Rs 11.75 crore at the mega players’ auction last November.
However, Starc had opted out of the just-concluded ICC Champions Trophy with a sore ankle. Australia lost to eventual champions India in the semifinal.
Get the latest IPL 2025 updates on Times of India, including match schedules, team squads, and live scores for CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT, PBKS, and RR. Find out how to watch IPL 2025 in Canada and the USA.
