T20 World Cup: Mitchell Starc fit for selection against Sri Lanka, confirms Australia coach Justin Langer

Dubai, October 28: Fans of the Australian cricket team had a major relief after head coach Justin Langer confirmed on Thursday (October 28) that left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc is fit to play against Sri Lanka in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 clash in Dubai.

"He'll be playing, don't worry about that. We had a couple of nervous moments. In the nets Mitch Marsh smacked one back at him and hit him straight in the right knee," Langer told Fox Cricket on Thursday.

"We were really worried about it, but he is that tough. He is an elite athlete and he's bloody tough. He came out, trained yesterday and he'll be up and running," he added further.

Australia's premier fast bowler, Starc, was seen limping off with an injured leg in the training held at the ICC Academy on Tuesday (October 26) night in Dubai.

Starc played in Australia's opening game win against South Africa but was not at his usual lethal best. The left-hander had taken nearly six months break from cricket and hardly played any games before arriving in Dubai for the ICC T20 World Cup.

He trained with the Australian women's team in Queensland, along with his partner Alyssa Healy. The injury to his leg made Starc a doubtful starter for the league game against Sri Lanka.

Australia had won its opening game of the T20 World Cup against South Africa last week by five wickets. The Aaron Finch-led side would be eager to get past Sri Lanka and take another step towards booking a semi-final berth.

Australia's squad: Aaron Finch (Captain), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (vice-captain), Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

Travelling reserves: Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis, Daniel Sams.