Mitchell Starc delivers crushing news to Aussie cricket fans amid huge retirement revelation

The Test superstar has always opted to prioritise playing for Australia and spending time with wife Alyssa Healy.

Mitchell Starc has revealed he can't ever see himself playing in the BBL again unless he retires from international cricket. The Aussie bowler was part of the Sydney Sixers squad this BBL season, along with Test superstars Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.

But it marked the fifth summer in a row in which none of them featured in the T20 competition, leaving BBL organisers to grapple with how to showcase the best of Australia's Test talent during the hectic schedule. The league introduced a 'supplementary list scheme' two years ago, and it's allowed Test players like Steve Smith, Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja to make late-season cameos. But none of the Test players could play in the BBL finals because they had to fly out to Sri Lanka.

Mitchell Starc and wife Alyssa Healy.
Mitchell Starc has always prioritised Australia and time with wife Alyssa Healy (R) over franchise cricket. Image: Getty

Starc has only played 10 BBL games for the Sydney Sixers in his career - the last of which came in the summer of 2014/15. The 35-year-old has always prioritised playing for Australia over the riches of franchise cricket, and famously gave up about $10 million by not playing in the IPL more.

ADVERTISEMENT

Starc has always opted to prioritise rest and time at home with wife Alyssa Healy, and didn't made a BBL cameo this summer because there was only 10 days between the last Test against India and flying out to Sri Lanka. And it's set to be more of the same next summer, with Australia travelling to Pakistan for a T20 series right after the Ashes finish on January 8.

Mitchell Starc, pictured here in the BBL with the Sydney Sixers in 2012.
Mitchell Starc hasn't played in the BBL with the Sydney Sixers since 2014. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

Starc and his teammates aren't expected to rest for the Pakistan series because it will serve as valuable practice before the T20 World Cup in February 2026. It all means Starc is highly unlikely to play in the BBL unless he retires from international cricket, and even then maybe not.

"I don't know, to be honest," he said at the Australian team's hotel in Galle over the weekend about his future in the BBL. "As long as the Australian summer is the way it is, where we have two weeks (off), not even - we had 10 days this year. If that's how it is, probably not. If I retire from something, perhaps. Who knows?"

To make matters worse for officials, Smith and Matt Kuhnemann both suffered injuries in the BBL right before flying to Sri Lanka, although they weren't serious enough to stop them playing the first Test. But Test and Sydney Sixers off-spinner Todd Murphy doesn't think it will scare international players away from the T20 league in future.

ADVERTISEMENT

"It's hard to miss games to try and protect yourself," he said. "There's always risk playing cricket, that's never going to change. For me, I just want to keep enjoying playing as much cricket as I can. I really enjoy the BBL with Sydney."

RELATED:

With Starc already 35 and showing no signs of slowing down, it's hard to see a world where he ever plays BBL again. With 95 Tests under his belt, he's on the cusp of joining Glenn McGrath as just the second Australian fast bowler to play 100.

"It'd be very humbling," Starc said last week. "It could all finish in two Tests time. Who knows? I feel like Test cricket was the one that was the hardest for me to feel like I was enough for. So I want to try and be good enough for as long as I can be."