Mitchell Starc

First there was Johnson, then there was Starc: a left-armer called Mitchell has long been a staple of Australia's attack. Starc will go down as one of the country's finest all-format bowlers - only the second Australian fast bowler after Glenn McGrath to play 100 Tests, and the fourth bowler from the country to have taken 400 Test wickets.

While Johnson was more express, Starc is still quick enough to make life uncomfortable for opposition batters, especially with the bounce gained from his 1.96m height. And he has greater control of swing than his former colleague. Never was that shown to greater effect than during the 2015 World Cup, when Starc, his inswingers often unplayable, was player of the tournament for his 22 wickets at 10.18. Four years later he would claim 27 wickets at the tournament, and in 2023, when Australia reclaimed their title, added a further 16. By the end of the 2024 T20 World Cup he was the leading wicket-taker across all World Cups.

Starc has at times divided opinion as a Test bowler but his career numbers are also outstanding. He struggled to gain the consistent backing of the selectors early in his Test career and was often in one Test and out the next, but in 2015 he finally enjoyed a solid run of Test cricket until an ankle injury stopped him during the home summer. His career-best match haul of 11 for 94 came in the notable surroundings of Galle, and remarkably, his 24 wickets in that three-Test series were in a 3-0 loss for Australia.

He claimed 22 wickets in four Tests during the 2017-18 Ashes, and after only playing once during the 2019 Ashes in England, became a regular in the line-up. When England toured down under in 2021-22, he produced some of his best form in the three matches where the series was decided, and went on to claim the Allan Border Medal as Australia's male player of the year. In the first World Test Championship cycle, 2019-22, he took 44 wickets in ten Tests, and followed it up with 55 in 17 in the next round.

Starc took his 300th Test wicket in in late 2022, went past Dennis Lillee's tally of 355 in 2024, and ticked 400 in a demolition of West Indies in Kingston in 2025, when he took 6 for 9 and dismissed them for 27, the second-lowest Test innings total ever.

A powerful lower-order batter, Starc fell one short of a Test century in Mohali in 2013. He married Australia wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy in 2016.

- Mitchell Starc was the costliest player procured at an IPL auction when Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made a successful bid of INR 24.75 crore (US$ 2.98 million approx.) for him at the auction before the 2024 IPL.

- He had a mixed bag of a tournament, but when it mattered the most - in the playoffs, Starc brought out his best. He finished the season with 17 wickets in 14 matches as KKR lifted their third IPL title.

- In the IPL 2025 auction, Starc was picked up by Delhi Capitals for INR 11.75 crore. He picked up 14 wickets in 11 outings and was retained by DC for IPL 2026.

- One of the most sought-after players in T20 cricket, Starc had played only 27 matches across the first 15 editions of the IPL, with injuries, international commitments, and personal reasons keeping him away at various points.

- In the two IPLs that Starc played before KKR got him for 2024, he took 14 and 20 wickets for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), in 2014 and 2015.