Former India captain Sourav Ganguly shared his views when he was asked concerning the uncertainty surrounding speedster Mitchell Starc’s availability for the beginning of IPL 2026. Delhi Capitals also shared on the press conference that they’re waiting for a green signal from Cricket Australia as well.
And this, Ganguly said while in Delhi for a brand endorsement for Jakson, “It hurts… because when quality players don’t are available in on the last minute, it shakes the balance of the team.”
Nevertheless, Mitchell Starc is all set to miss the initial phase of the season as Cricket Australia rigorously manages his workload ahead of a full 2026-27 calendar. The timing couldn’t be worse as franchises construct their teams and techniques around marquee overseas players as well.
“Workload management may be very essential because players do play a variety of cricket” – Sourav Ganguly
Ganguly, while speaking on the broader issue of player availability in franchise cricket, said that the impact of such late withdrawals is way greater within the IPL than in international cricket as well.
“It hurts because I’ve all the time said making an Indian team is simpler than making an IPL team. Because one of the best players can be found on a regular basis to be picked. IPL is 10 teams that players get distributed. And when quality players don’t are available in on the last minute, obviously it shakes up the balance of the team,” he said again.
“Since the substitutes, the provision isn’t as strong because the one who’s not turned up… But in IPL if Mitchell Starc misses out or Pathirana misses out, the void may be very hard to fill. In order that’s certainly one of the challenges,” Sourav Ganguly concluded. “Workload management may be very essential because players do play a variety of cricket. It’s not only the IPL… greater than physical, the mental part takes over. Away from home, away from families. It’s never easy. So it’s a balance which can proceed to occur.”
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