Australia's Starc misses final Test and IPL with leg injury

JOHANNESBURG: Australian pacer Mitchell Starc will miss the Indian Premier League (IPL) after being ruled out of Australia’s fourth Test against South Africa with a leg injury.

Starc took 12 wickets at an average of 34.41 in the first three matches against the Proteas, but has been replaced by debutant Chadd Sayers in Johannesburg for the last match with the hosts leading the series 2-1.

He has a tibial bone stress in his right leg and will return home after the conclusion of the series for further assessment.

The left-armer who has taken 182 wickets in 43 Test matches at an average of 28.17, was crucial in Australia’s win in the first Test of the series. He took figures of 5/34 and 4/75 to blow away the South African batting in Durban and put the visitors 1-0 up.

Starc’s withdrawal comes as a further blow for Australia, who have already lost captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and opener Cameron Bancroft following the ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town.

Matthew Renshaw, Joe Burns and Peter Handscomb have been brought into the side to bolster the batting ranks at the Wanderers, with wicket-keeper Tim Paine captaining.

Starc’s news created a problem for Kolkata Knight Riders, who paid over $1.4 million for the 28-year-old for this year’s IPL, which runs from 7 April to 27 May.

The injury means Starc will miss the competition for the third successive year, having withdrawn from Royal Challengers Bangalore last year to focus on international cricket and having suffered a foot injury in 2016.

He has has previously taken 34 wickets at an economy rate of 7.17 in 27 IPL matches.