Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has expressed surprise about Australian pacer Mitchell Starc’s decision to retire from T20Is ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup as well. However, he added that Starc can prove very expensive at times in the T20 format. Notably, Starc recently announced his retirement from T20Is, and he will continue to play for Australia in Tests and ODIs and be available for franchise leagues as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “To each his own. Personally, I am still not convinced that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma did the right thing by leaving Tests. In my opinion, they should have continued playing Tests and left ODIs if they wished, because ODIs don’t happen much. Otherwise, they could have continued playing ODIs as well. They had already left T20Is.”
“I am a little surprised. Mitchell Starc could have played a World Cup and said goodbye after that, but he didn’t wait for the World Cup. To be fair, he hasn’t played too many T20Is. He is an absolute gun bowler, but he is also someone who can be very expensive from time to time. You see how and wow with him many times in the shortest format,” he further added.
READ HERE: Shubman Gill Takes Sly Dig At His Critics After India Win At Edgbaston
However, Aakash Chopra also stated that Mitchell Starc have retired from T20Is to play Tests and ODIs, sharing the significance of the Ashes and ODI World Cups for Australian and England cricketers.
“Everyone has their own choice, and I feel the Australian and English cricketers don’t say goodbye to the Ashes so early. It’s a question of tradition. They are hard-wired in such a way that the Ashes are very, very important, and the ODI World Cup is very, very important. That’s how you grow up,” he said.
“You have T20 leagues to earn money. So that could be a thought process. The thought process that is right for them might not be right for us, but you should keep playing Test cricket as long as you can because too many ODIs aren’t played these days,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
