Australian seamer Starc opts out of IPL 2017

Bengaluru, Feb 19: Australian left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc has pulled out of the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in order to rest himself ahead of a long season for his national cricket team, it was announced on Sunday.

With this decision, the 27-year-old will sacrifice Rs 5 crore that he was supposed to bag after turning out for IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) during the coming season.

Starc, one of the world's premier fast bowler, had also missed the 2016 IPL edition due to injury.

"The Royal Challengers Bangalore and fast bowler Mitchell Starc have mutually decided to discontinue their association ahead of the upcoming season of VIVO Indian Premier League 2017 in accordance with Regulation 41 of the IPL Player Regulations," a statement said.

Now, in the absence of Starc, the city-based franchise of the richest Twenty20 cricket league will go into Monday's IPL Players auction with an additional purse of Rs 5 Crore and an additional slot for overseas player. In total, RCB have a purse of Rs 17.825 crore to buy players.

The IPL starts on April 5.