Australia’s T20 World Cup Exit: Selectors Asked Mitchell Starc to Reverse Retirement

For the fifth time in the last six editions of the T20 World Cup, Australia did not reach the semi-finals. They were knocked out in the group stage after losing to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. It was a forgettable campaign for the Aussies, who are known to bring out their best in World Cups. But this was a bit different, haunting the might of the Aussies. The reasons were multiple. Australia had some bewildering selection calls. Star players, namely Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell and Travis Head, were just not in great enough forms.

However, the killing blow was the injury issues. While Tim David and Nathan Ellis made themselves available just in time, Australia never found true replacements for Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlwood, who both were part of the initial squad only to get ruled out for selection. Now, in a stunning development, reports have emerged that the Australian selectors asked legendary pacer Mitchell Starc to make a U-turn on his T20I retirement.

Mitchell Starc, one of the best fast bowlers of his generation, retired from T20 internationals to focus on Test cricket and also had his sights set on the ODI World Cup 2027. He officially retired from international cricket in September 2025, just a few months before the major ICC T20 tournament in the subcontinent.

SOS Call to Mitchell Starc by Australian Selectors

According to journalist Robert Craddock, the Cricket Australia selectors were worried about their bowling attack and quietly approached Mitchell Starc to see if he would reconsider his retirement.

“Starc was informally approached at least twice by the panel around the time the squad was being finalised. But Starc elected to stay in T20 retirement. “Craddock wrote for News Corp.

The last time Australia played an ICC event without Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood was the 2011 ODI World Cup.

So, when the 2021 T20 champions were without Cummins and Hazlewood, they reached out to Starc and asked him to return. However, he turned down the request.

Instead, Australia selected players like Ben Dwarshuis, Xavier Bartlett and Nathan Ellis to strengthen their bowling attack.

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