Scott Boland shares update on Mitchell Starc’s injury concerns

Ace Australia pacer Mitchell Starc was spotted holding his back on Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test against India at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The pace spearhead bowled 25 overs in the first innings, conceding 86 runs without any luck for wickets. He has bowled the tough overs and captain Pat Cummins turned to his partner occasionally, but arguably, the workload has got to Starc, who will turn 35 in a month.

Scott Boland, meanwhile, shared an update about Starc’s injury concern, mentioning that Australia International was okay after a break. He added that it was a small niggle and stated that the pacer can play through a lot of pain. Boland also highlighted that pacers rarely bowl without any issues and believes that Starc will be fine for the remainder of the game.

“He’s okay. He just had a bit of a niggle somewhere in his back or rib, I don’t know, somewhere back there, but he came out after the break and was bowling 140km/h, so I think he’s going to be fine,” Boland said in the press conference after Day 3.

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“He’s someone who can play through a lot of pain, and you can probably tell (that because) he’s played close to 90 Test matches now. And as a fast bowler, there’s not many games where you do play without any niggle at all. He’s someone who can still bowl at the same pace even when he is really sore, which is a great trait to have,” he added.

Notably, Starc didn’t bowl on Day 4 of the Test. Cummins opened the bowling, while Nathan Lyon was used from the other end. Meanwhile, Starc’s injury has once again opened debates about workload management. Veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle noted that India’s premiere pacer Jasprit Bumrah managed vital recovery time, courtesy of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar’s partnership but Starc, on the other hand, bowled on back-to-back two days and we will shortly be back in action as Australia will be hoping to set up a strong target and defend that on the final day.