Starc reveals what led to his absence from Australia’s Champions Trophy squad

Ace Australian quick Mitchell Starc has revealed what led to his absence from theICC Champions Trophy 2025. Starc was among the Aussie pace trio, including regular captain Pat Cummins and seasoned seamer Josh Hazlewood, who did not feature in the first showpiece event of the year. While Cummins and Hazlewood missed the Champions Trophy due to respective injuries, Starc admitted pain in his ankle (he felt during Sri Lanka Tests) and ‘personal views’ forced him to pull out of contention.

Speaking for the first time since opting out of the Champions Trophy squad, Starc said, "There's a few different reasons, some personal views, and had a bit of ankle pain through the Test series [against Sri Lanka]."

"So just get that one right, obviously, we've got the Test final coming up and a West Indies tour after that.

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"There's some IPL cricket as well, but my main one top of my mind is that Test final, so get my body right, play some cricket in the next couple of months and then ready to go for the Test final,” the left-arm quick said while chatting on Willow Talk podcast.

While he did not elaborate on his (personal) reasons, Starc’s absence makes sense for his longevity and fitness.

The ageing left-arm quick was part of the five Tests at home against India, throwing rockets throughout the series while playing the two away Tests against Sri Lanka. Though Cricket Australia (CA) named him in the 15-man squad for the eight-team tournament in Pakistan, Starc chose to skip it to reclaim full fitness for the upcoming IPL and the WTC Final.

Besides, had he been picked and playing, Starc would have been travelling to a new city for Australia’s scheduled group stage matches and even to Dubai (to face India) should they qualify for the semis.

Changes in the WTC model? Starc says yes!

Also, defending the WTC title is something Starc has his eyes on, and even though they have already tasted success the last time and made it to the finals this year, the ace quick feels it (WTC model) needs some tinkering.

Meanwhile, Australia missed out on making it to the finals the first time due to slow over-rate penalties, but Starc feels it gained significance when the Aussies qualified for the second one.

"The first one being a new concept, I remember definitely, I was like, what's this all about? It doesn't mean much," he said. "We're trying to win every Test match, every Test series. And then we got close to it, and we missed out, and watching it on TV; we all wanted to be a part of it. So that quickly changed.

"And then the second cycle, we made the final and, obviously, playing India on neutral territory, that was a big occasion for both teams, managed to get the chocolates that time. And now we find ourselves sitting [with] a chance to win it for the second time on the trot.

"I think the format needs some tinkering still. It's a very hard one to fix, I guess when you only play six series that contribute to the point system. You get the same points for home and away wins, it's a percentage-based model. So it's an imperfect system. But I think two really good teams will be facing off in the final,” he added.

(With inputs from agencies)