Starc quit the IPL because of an air raid warning. He doesn’t care if he isn’t invited back

Mitchell Starc has rebuked South Africa for suggesting Kagiso Rabada will be sledged about his drugs ban at next week’s world Test championship final at Lord’s, counselling the Proteas to catch up on how Pat Cummins’ top-ranked team has played its cricket over the past five years.

Speaking for the first time since his decision not to return to the Indian Premier League after he and wife Alyssa Healy were thrown into the midst of conflict between India and Pakistan, Starc told this masthead he was content with the call even if it means franchises are reluctant to recontract him in the future.

Mitchell Starc took issue with South Africa’s spruiking ahead of next week’s world Test championship final. Credit: Getty Images

Starc also rebuffed suggestions from former South African seamer Vernon Philander that England conditions suited the Proteas more than Australia. Philander has claimed the Australian batters have a “defect” against the moving ball and their paceman bowl too short to hit the stumps.

The notion of drugs-based sledging, pushed by South Africa’s high-performance chief Enoch Nkwe and also Rabada himself, left Starc feeling like he was living in a time warp where Australia’s players were unchanged since the infamous 2018 series in South Africa.

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