Australia suffered a 21-run defeat at the hands of Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup Super 8 match.
Australian pacer Mitchell Starc has expressed his disappointment over the team management's decision to drop him for the crucial T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 clash against Afghanistan last month.
The Aussies suffered a 21-run defeat at the hands of Afghanistan in St Vincent, which significantly impacted their chances of making the semis.
It was the second consecutive T20 World Cup match that Starc missed against Afghanistan, a trend that has fueled his frustration.
Australia decided to replace Starc with left-arm spinner Ashton Agar for the match. It was strategic choice that did not yield the positive result as Agar failed to claim any wickets.
Speaking on the Willow Talk podcast, Starc vented out his frustration about being dropped. "No -- two World Cups in a row," he said, referring to his omission from matches against Afghanistan in consecutive tournaments.
"They saw previous games on that ground with spin playing a part and obviously Ash and the left-armer enticing them to make a change," he added.
Mitchell Starc was also critical of the tournament's scheduling and pre-seeding arrangements, which put Australia in a predetermined group even they topped the group stage.
"We finished ahead of England and end up where we were pre-seeded as the second side. All of a sudden, you're in a different group," he stated.
The 34-year-old further highlighted the logistical challenges of traveling in the Caribbean, suggesting that the tournament’s structure could have been better planned.
"We had the two night games and the third was a day game, so it wasn't the best preparation. We had a delayed flight out of St Vincent, a 90-minute drive from the airport to the hotel in St Lucia, and then a 10 o'clock toss," Starc said.
"Travel around the West Indies is probably not the easiest thing to do, certainly not to travel home from," he further remarked.
(With PTI Inputs)