‘It means I’ve played a bit’ - Starc plays down prospect of overtaking Kapil, Steyn

Ace fast bowler Mitchell Starc played down the prospect of breaking into the top ten on the all-time Test wicket-takers’ charts during Australia’s upcoming series against Bangladesh. Starc declared that he wouldn’t “get too far ahead” whilst remaining active international cricket, adding that being taken in the same breath as Kapil Dev and Dale Steyn was “cool and very humbling”.

The 36-year old Starc enjoyed a stellar 2025 in Tests, bagging 55 wickets in 11 games - the most for a bowler in that calendar year, underlined by Player of the Series-worthy exploits in West Indies and the home Ashes series. He brought his best to the fore during Australia’s 4-1 Ashes triumph, leading the attack with aplomb in the absence of Josh Hazlewood and skipper Pat Cummins for at least a majority, if not the entire series, returning 31 scalps at 19.94.

Starc is also in the rare league of fast bowlers to have featured in 100 or more Tests and currently sits on 433 wickets from 105 matches - one shy of Kapil Dev’s mark of 434 and six adrift of Steyn’s 439. Among Australians, only Shane Warne, Nathan Lyon and Glenn McGrath have bagged more Test wickets than Starc.

“It means I've played a bit,” Starc told Australian Associated Press when asked about the possibility of overtaking the aforementioned duo. “It is cool and very humbling to be spoken about it with those guys. But that stuff doesn't mean a whole lot while you're still playing. You don't get too far ahead," he added.

Age has not slowed Starc down one bit, as he has continued to clock high speeds and bowl long spells to break games open for Australia. Since the start of 2022, the left-arm quick has picked up 164 wickets from 41 Tests while his bowling average of 17.32 in 2025 was his best ever in a calendar year.

Starc admits that a lot of his recent success has come down to a clearer mindset. “You're never as good or bad as you think or other people think you are,” Starc said. "I still moan and whinge about anything that goes wrong with or feels wrong. Even heading into [the last] summer, it didn't feel like it clicked until the day before the Ashes.

"But I think what's been a feature of our group and led by Ron [Head Coach Andrew McDonald] and Pat, is that whether it's a good day, bad day, good over, bad spell, it's done. Move on. What can you change in real time?”

Improvement with time and adding variations such as the wobble seam have also played its part in Starc’s success. “When you're 36 and you've been around for 16 years, you'd like to think you've improved or got better at something,” Starc said.

“You're also around that long because you're able to develop and learn and improve. And you add in a few things like the wobble seam, consistency and other things. I have a pretty clear mindset on it all."

Starc hasn’t featured in a competitive game since his six-match IPL stint with Delhi Capitals, having missed the first half of the tournament with injury. He is set to mark his return in the first Test against Bangladesh in Darwin, commencing August 13.

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