‘Great thing’: Mitchell Starc looking forward to India-Australia day/night Test
'India played a pink-ball game in India so they're not completely foreign to it. In terms of an advantage, if you like, we do have a good record at home with the pink ball,' Mitchell Starc said
FollowMelbourne: Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who is one of the leading wicket takers with the pink ball, said he is looking forward to playing a day-night Test in the home series against India.
In their previous tour in 2018-19, India secured their first-ever Test series win Down Under. Although the visitors had declined to play a day-night game then, in February BCCI president Sourav Ganguly announced that India has agreed to one later this year.
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"I think absolutely a pink-ball Test in the series against India is a great thing. The fans love it, I think it creates a different aspect to the contest, bat and ball are closer together in that contest," Starc said.
While Australia featured in the first ever day-night Test against New Zealand back in 2015 and have played seven games since then, India played their only pink ball match last November against Bangladesh.
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"India played a pink-ball game in India so they're not completely foreign to it. In terms of an advantage, if you like, we do have a good record at home with the pink ball," Starc said.
But the 30-year-old played down the "advantage", saying, "That might come into a home-ground advantage and it's no different to us going to India and they've got the advantage there.
"It'd be great to have a pink-ball contest in that series and from the little bits I've seen and heard, India are very much open to that as well so that's fantastic," he added.
Starc also said he wouldn't mind if Cricket Australia allows some of its biggest players to miss the early part of the country's domestic season to play in a rescheduled Indian Premier League.
"Do I have an issue with it? I don't think so. They're pre-existing contracts. There's a lot of things that would have to go into that I assume ... Cricket Australia would have to clear those guys so if they're clear to go, I don't see a problem with it," he said.
"They're pre-existing contracts and they would have been playing anyway. There's obviously a different hurdle of domestic cricket there. It'd be an interesting decision, not one I'd have to make, so I'll let them make their decisions," he added.
The left-arm pacer added that if a change of schedule allows, he could reconsider playing in the IPL. Starc had earlier opted out of the 13th IPL.
"I'd consider it, I'd think about it. Obviously it'd be right at the start of our domestic season as well so it'd be a fair bit to consider. But I don't currently have a contract, so I currently don't have to worry.”
