FILE PHOTO: Australia's Mitchell Starc prepares to bowl in the 2021 ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup, November 14, 2021, REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc reckons the game's hectic schedule will force him to quit white-ball cricket at some stage to prolong his test career.
The left-arm quick is among Australia's all-format players, who headed into a three-match one-days series against England four days after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup Down Under.
Starc's 4-47 fetched Australia an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ODI series against reigning T20 and ODI world champions England on Saturday, also earning him the player-of-the-match award.
"It's certainly impossible at the moment to play every game as a three-format player," the 32-year-old, who has not played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2015 to maintain his workload, said after Australia's 72-run victory in Sydney.
"Having (the IPL period) to rest might help me keep bowling at decent speeds for a period of time.
"(But) I don't think playing three formats is something I can do for a long period moving forward."
While he wants to play the next T20 World Cup, to be jointly hosted by West Indies and the United States, Starc said test cricket was paramount for him.
"Tests (are) always first (priority) ... far above white-ball," he said.
"I'll decide on the rest as I go and where my body's at and how I feel about it.
"I'd love to, selection and form pending, continue playing test cricket as long as I can."
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
