Starc hopeful of regaining fitness ahead of Pakistan ODIs

A left pectoral injury has hampered Mitchell Starc’s preparations for the World Cup, having ruled him out of the limited-overs tour of India, but the left-arm quick is hopeful of making a return during the ODI series against Pakistan. The Australian pacer, who sustained the injury during the second Test against Sri Lanka in Canberra, says he is “a couple of weeks” away from resuming bowling. “The UAE is around the 15th of March so if all goes to plan I should be pretty sweet to be available for that one,” Starc told cricket.com.au. “Obviously the boys go to India, hopefully it’s a good tour for them there. I don’t think I’ll be ready for any stage of that. So it’s up to the rehab group and the selectors and see how the rest of this summer goes.”