Mitchell Starc 'very unlikely' to play in World Twenty20

Sydney Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Starc who suffered an ankle injury during the inaugural daynight Test against New Zealand in November last year hasvirtually ruled himself out of the ICC World Twenty20The 25yearold leftarm quick who has hadsurgery on ankle spurs after sustaining a stress fracture in his foot has conceded that he is very unlikely to be fit for the T20 World Cupand lead the Aussie attack in its bid for a first T20 titleAustralias pace spearhead Mitchell Starc walking onto the field with crutches at the end of first daynight cricket Test match against New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval on November 29 2015 PicAFPStarc the player of the tournament at last yearrsquos 50overs World Cup was always an outside shot to make the March 11April 3 World Twenty20 in India due to the estimated recuperation period and he was unable to offer a better prognosis on WednesdayHe though is looking at the bigger picture and hopes to be back for the midyear triseries in the West Indies Speaking to reporters at the rainhit Sydney Test against the West Indies with his right foot protected by a moonboot said he was uncertain about when he would return However he all but ruled out playing in the T20 World Cup starting in India on March 8Its very unlikely Everything would have to go perfectly to be any chance I wont know until I can start doing some stuff on it Starc saidIve played probably nonstop for two years and the silver lining is I get to give the body a bit of a break and rebuild that strengthMake sure everything is 100 percent before I go again Starc said he had more chance of playing in the T20 Indian Premier League in early April or in the oneday triseries against South Africa and the West Indies in the Caribbean in JuneI dont know at this stage It comes back to when I start bowling and how it reacts to the bowling Theres no real timeframe he saidStarc who was wearing a moon boot to take pressure off his foot said his first return to action would more likely be during the Indian Premier League tournament starting late AprilThat the IPL could be a possibility and theres the West Indies triseries after that as well Theres cricket all throughout the year and I dont want to rush it I want to make sure its 100 percent before I go and play my first gameStarc who took over leadership of Australias pace attack following the retirement of Mitchell Johnson last November said he was happy with the surgeryBy all reports the surgery has gone really well and its more just waiting for the fracture to heal more he saidThe ankles going really well The movement in it is really good at the momentI had the three spurs shaved back and a whole heap of scar tissue out of the front and a big piece of bone pulled out of the back of the ankleIf the foot wasnt broken Id be doing a lot more than I am at the moment Starc said he expected to be running within five to six weeksThe leftarm swing paceman who has taken 91 wickets in 25 tests and was one of the stars of Australias World Cupwinning campaign last year did acknowledge that a return to the national team was not a certaintyI dont think you can ever say 100 percent that youve cemented a spot Starc said Im still going to have to work when I get back to bowling to get my spot backBut Id like to think in the last 1012 months Ive come a long way in all forms of cricket