Mitch Starc says he, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood can play every Test in upcoming schedule

Starc, who turns 34 next month, was last week picked up by the Kolkata Knight Riders for a record-breaking $4.43m AUD. It ended an eight-year hiatus for the left-armer in the competition, with Starc having long put international duties and family life ahead of potential IPL riches, which sources indicate could have cost him well over $10m during that period.

Speaking at the MCG ahead of the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan, Starc said he and fellow quick Pat Cummins – signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad for $3.67m AUD only an hour or so before Starc blew that figure out of the water – had been ribbed by all-rounder Cameron Green, who had himself had a huge IPL payday a year earlier.

“Well, it’s probably somewhat fair, but certainly the bowlers have been giving Greeny stick for the last 12 months for his IPL stuff, he didn’t miss a chance yesterday or today. So it’s probably fair,” Starc said.

Starc hinted that he had no regrets over sitting out of the IPL for so long.

“I’ve always said whenever asked, I prioritise Test cricket, certainly prioritise international cricket. Juggling one cricket schedule is hard enough, let alone when there’s two in a relationship. So I’ve always spent that time away from cricket with Alyssa (Healy) or time with family and recharging my body for being as fit and as ready as I can for Australian cricket. So I don’t regret any of it. I think it’s certainly helped my Test cricket. So yeah, as I’ve said before, the money is always nice and certainly was this year but I’ve always prioritised international cricket and I think that’s helped my game.”

Having battled a groin issue following this year’s Ashes tour, there was speculation ahead of the home Test summer that the veteran may need to miss a Test at some point given the Aussies back up their three Tests against Pakistan with two home Tests against the West Indies in January and two Tests in New Zealand beginning in late February.

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However Starc said the time between the World Cup and the first Test in Perth had helped his body recover, and that he was confident that he, Cummins and Josh Hazlewood could keep going until mid-March, unlike during the tour of England this year in which Hazlewood, Starc and Scott Boland were rotated in and out of the side.

“Yeah, I think so. It’s certainly not a schedule like what we had in the Ashes so you know, we’ve had a few days in between Perth (then) coming to Melbourne and then there’s a few days between the Pakistan series and the West Indies series and then we’ve got white-ball series in between our Test summer and going to New Zealand. But I think we look back at the Ashes schedule and having six Test matches in eight weeks was something that doesn’t happen all the time. But the way we’re all feeling at the minute we’re ready to go,” Starc said.

“I don’t think you’re ever 100 per cent. But I think I probably finished the World Cup better than I started in terms of how my body felt. There were a few issues there after the Ashes that we didn’t know until we got home and sort of managed them pretty well through the World Cup and I think they looked after themselves enough to be able to perform back end of the World Cup and feel in a good place.”