Mitchell Starc trends on Twitter; fans shocked with pacer's behaviour in Sheffield Shield

Mitchell Starc recently deleted his social media accounts citing a need to focus on his game and reduce "outside noise". However, this hasn't stopped him from becoming the centre of a heated debate on social media. The Aussie pacer, who is known for his dangerous pace on the field, had an incredible outing with the bat at the Sheffield Shield 2020 on Tuesday. In fact, Starc almost had his best-ever outing with the bat, had it not been for a controversial call by NSW's captain Peter Nevill. 

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Mitchell Starc denied maiden ton at Sheffield Shield 2020

A GIF showing a furious Starc returning to the dugout and slamming his bat on the ground quickly started doing the round on social media earlier in the day. The reason behind this - Peter Nevill's decision to hang on for youngster Sean Abbott to complete his maiden century but declaring right after, leaving Mitchell Starc at 86* on the other end. This is perhaps one of the most controversial declarations in cricket since Rahul Dravid left Sachin Tendulkar on 194* in 2004 against Pakistan. 

Naturally, the action has received many opinions from fans on social media. The conditions surrounding the declaration are in favour of the captain. New South Wales were bowled out for a poor 64 runs in their first innings and needed a major comeback to have a shot at victory. Nick Larkin, Moises Henriques and Abbott all made centuries in the team's effort, taking them to 522 in the second innings. This left Tasmania 348 to chase in one day.

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Nevill's decision to declare was done some credit by the fact that NSW had already taken two wickets by the close of play on Tuesday. However, some fans defended Starc's anger, saying that he deserved at least another over or two to get to his century - a chance that he, as a lower-order batsman may rarely get. Yet another fan thought Starc should've put his team's needs over his personal milestones. Here are some fan reactions to the clip shared by the Australian Cricket's Twitter handle: 

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India vs Australia 2020 series

After a below-par performance during India's last tour of India that earned him heaps of criticism, Mitchell Starc has said that he will be prepared for the Men in Blue this time. The pacer chose to pull out of the Dream11 IPL 2020, to focus on the now-postponed T20 World Cup.

Now, Starc is brushing up on his red-ball skills in anticipation of the 4-match Test series against India starting in November. This is sure to give him an edge over others who will have to make a quick switch from the T20 format to Tests. Starc signed up with the NSW team to be closer to his wife Alyssa Healy, who is playing with the Sydney Sixers.

Also Read | Mitchell Starc Removes Twitter Account To Focus Solely On Upcoming India Series?

Image Credits: Australian Cricket Twitter