Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has admitted that Mitchell Starc has suffered some kind of injury or niggle ahead of the fifth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against India in Sydney. However, McDonald remains hopeful that Starc will stay fit ahead of the upcoming Tests.

Mitchell Starc struggled midway through the Melbourne Test and even left the field on day three with rib soreness, but he returned on the final day and played a role in the team’s victory.

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Andrew McDonald admits Mitchell Starc’s fitness concerns

Andrew McDonald spoke to reporters after the Melbourne Test to give an update on Mitchell Starc’s fitness. The Australia boss admitted Starc has a minor injury or soreness but believes he will be fine when he plays in Sydney.

“We’ll see what happens to the body. Apparently the Stasi (Mitchell Starc) was carrying something like that. We’ll evaluate that. But other than that, it looks like we’ve got a pass ,” McDonald said.

Andrew McDonald further revealed the reasons behind Starc being used in SCG. He claimed that once his body warmed up and he seemed to be in good rhythm, the left arm was capable of bowling fast balls at a good pace.

“It (the injury) didn’t stop him. It was a little uncomfortable early on, but once he warmed up it seemed like he was free. The ball speed was good,” McDonald added.

Mitchell Starc comes back strong in second innings

Mitchell Starc got the new ball in the second innings and bowled it at a good pace. He shared the bowling workload well with all the other Australian bowlers and no discomfort was seen.

The left-arm fast bowler took the wicket of Virat Kohli to give his team a crucial breakthrough and ended with 1-25 in 16 overs . Earlier, he had bowled 25 balls without a wicket in the first innings.

Starc’s fitness will be assessed ahead of the Sydney Test, but according to the team’s head coach, he is likely to recover in time. If he is unavailable, Jay Richardson and Sean Abbott will be the other two fast bowlers in the team as backup. While Richardson provided the team with extra speed, Abbott was a less capable hitter.

Australia leads series

Meanwhile, Australia took the lead for the first time in the series. They comprehensively defeated India by 184 runs at the MCG and currently lead the series 2-1. With just one game left, they aim to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Australia will also target a spot in the World Test Championship final after winning in Sydney. If the home team wins the upcoming Test match, they will advance directly. India, on the other hand, needs to win in Sydney to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the WTC finals and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.