Star Australian pacer Mitchell Starc opened up on his decision not to return to India for the restart of the league and his decision to skip Delhi Capitals' (DC) last three games of the season, which ended up resulting in them not qualifying for the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs.

For those unversed, the 2025 IPL was suspended for eight days due to Operation Sindoor. It was during a fixture between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and the Capitals in Dharamshala on May 8 that the BCCI were forced into immediate action and the game had to be stopped mid-way while players had to be rushed to the team hotel. With the airport in the city and nearby areas closed, the teams had to take a long road and train journey back to Delhi before players left for their home towns while overseas players were allowed to return.

The 2025 IPL restarted on May 17, but Starc and his DC teammate Jake Fraser-Mcgurk did not come back. Starc defended his decision and claimed that he was not happy with the way things were handled in Dharamshala and had raised concerns before the fixture. The Australian pacer compared the decision to him skipping the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

"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," said Starc to the Sydney Morning Herald.

"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," Starc added.

While several Australian players like Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, and Travis Head decided to come back, Starc claimed the situation was different for players that fixture in Dharamshala. He also reaffirmed that he remains committed to the Capitals.

"Things were handled differently for different players and different teams, the guys up in Dharamsala, the Punjab guys were part of that, and while both teams had similar experiences up there, all those guys returned for Punjab, and Jake Fraser-McGurk and I chose not to. So it was a very individual decision, and I’m happy to live with whatever comes of that.

"I’m still heavily committed to the Delhi group, and I’m not someone that’s gone into tournaments and pulled out after being picked up in an auction or whatever that looks like. These are different circumstances,' said Starc

Starc was key to DC's initial success as he finished the tournament with 14 wickets in 10 games.

Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Sports, Cricket, IPL 2025, IPL Points Table, IPL Orange Cap, IPL Purple Cap and around the world.