Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc has ruled himself out the second T20I against Sri Lanka to be played on October 30 as he is set to attend his brother’s wedding.
Starc has been granted leave by Cricket Australia and will rejoin the squad for the last T20 encounter on November 1 in Melbourne. The left-arm pacer was a star performer in Australia’s biggest ever win in T20I cricket as they thumped Sri Lanka by 134 runs in Adelaide on Sunday.
Starc took two wickets for 18 from his four-over quota as Sri Lanka hobbled to 99/9 in chase of a massive 234 at the Adelaide Oval.
Starc’s brother Brandon is a world-class high-jumper, and he won the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
The absence of Starc has now opened the doors for other speedsters, including Billy Stanlake and Sean Abbott.
Having taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, Australia will hope to clinch it with a victory in the second T20I to be played at The Gabba in Brisbane on Wednesday (October 30).
Australia squad for 2nd T20I vs Sri Lanka:
Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Turner, Alex Carey (wk), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa, Billy Stanlake, Sean Abbott, Ben McDermott.
