Mainstay Australia pacer Mitchell Starc has revealed the reason behind not rejoining Delhi Capitals (DC) in the second phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The star Aussie speedster was a vital member of the DC squad in the cash-rich league.

Playing the competition, he grabbed 14 wickets in 11 matches, with the best figures of 5/35 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Visakhapatnam. Starc left for Australia after the T20 competition got suspended for a week on May 9. He was expected to return for the remainder of the matches but he didn't do that.

Following the conclusion of IPL 2025, the 35-year-old spoke to the Sydney Morning Herald and disclosed that his focus shifted to Test cricket a week before he landed in his homeland. The veteran speedster also said that he will compare the effect of his decision with those players who didn't return to Australia.

'I'm comfortable with my decision and how I felt about the whole situation and how it was handled. That's why I made my decision post-that, and my focus changed to red-ball cricket for about a week prior to coming over here. Time will tell with repercussions or how it looks with guys that didn't return. But I've had my questions and concerns leading into that game, and obviously, we saw what happened, which played a part in my decision,' remarked Starc.

World Test Championship (WTC) final 2025 was also a major factor

Starc also said that the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final was also the reason that he took the decision to not be part of Capitals. 'There was a little bit of that to my decision around the Champions Trophy in Pakistan. And then once the tournament was delayed you start to think about guys' preparation for the Test match," added Starc.

Starc will be crucial for 's contest against South Africa in the WTC 2025 final starting from June 11. In the ongoing WTC 2023-25 cycle, he has done a fabulous job for Australia, picking up 72 wickets in 35 innings of 18 matches.