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India Have A Better Version Of Mitchell Starc - Here Is What T20I Comparison Tell Us

Probuddha Bhattacharjee

Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Starc [Source: AFP Media]Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Starc [Source: AFP Media]

A legend leaves the game, while a legacy builds to fill the void.

Mitchell Starc has recently announced his retirement from T20 internationals. With this, the game bids farewell to arguably one of the greatest left-arm fast bowlers in the format. The Australian speedster's ability to swing the ball at pace, deliver yorkers under pressure and strike early made him a nightmare for batters worldwide.

But with the departure of the legend, a legacy rises that can fill the void with Starc's departure. The young Indian pacer, Arshdeep Singh, might raise the standard for left-arm pace bowling in T20Is.

The Numbers Tell a Stunning Story

  • Starc's Final Legacy: 79 wickets in 65 matches over 12 years
  • Arshdeep's Rising Dominance: 99 wickets in 63 matches in just 3 years

The two pacers have similar appearances in T20Is. If we see the number of wickets, Arshdeep Singh has already picked up 25% more wickets than Starc.

  • Statistical Superiority
  • Arshdeep: 18.30 average, 13.2 strike rate, 8.29 economy
  • Starc (Final): 23.81 average, 18.4 strike rate, 7.74 economy

When it comes to efficiency, Arshdeep Singh takes five balls fewer than Mitchell Starc to pick up a wicket while conceding about five runs less. The Aussie pacer concedes fewer runs per over; however, when it comes to efficiency, Arshdeep seems to be quite a few notches ahead of Starc.

Match-Defining Impact

In Won Matches:

Starc: 55 wickets at 19.89 average, 7.34 economy

Arshdeep: 83 wickets at 16.09 average, 7.96 economy

In Lost Matches:

Starc: 21 wickets at 35.09 average, 8.67 economy

Arshdeep: 11 wickets at 38.36 average, 9.66 economy

The stats give us a telling fact. Both these bowlers contribute significantly to the team's wins. Both bowlers have significantly better averages and economies when their team has won. There is, of course, the fact that they might not have been the prime performers in the all the games that are in the stats. However, both these bowlers would have played a significant supporting role in these cases.

While Starc is a veteran of the game, the numbers show that Arshdeep is on the right path to build his own legacy and fill the void in the left-arm pace category that Starc's retirement from world cricket will create.

The Perfect Succession

What makes this transition compelling is the seamless timing. Just as Starc retires, having defined what a left-arm quick can achieve in T20Is, Arshdeep has emerged as an evolution of that template.

The verdict is clear: India doesn't just have their own Mitchell Starc - they have someone who has statistically surpassed the retired legend's final career numbers. As T20 cricket enters its post-Starc era, it does so with an Indian destroyer ready to carry the torch even higher.