Mitchell Starc will put himself up for a return to the IPL next year, viewing it as ideal preparation for the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA in June.

If picked up by a franchise, it would be Starc’s first appearance in the tournament since 2015 – overall he has made 27 appearances in two seasons for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

In 2018, he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders before withdrawing through injury and on other occasions has considered a return before opting to prioritise time at home amid a hectic multi-format schedule for Australia.

However, next year is comparatively light for Australia with only the T20 World Cup scheduled between a tour of New Zealand in March and white-ball series against Afghanistan, Ireland and England from late August.

“Look it’s been eight years. I’m definitely going back in [next] year,” Starc told the Willow Talk Cricket Podcast about his IPL ambitions. “Amongst other things, it’s a great lead-up to the T20 World Cup.

“So a good opportunity to see if anyone’s interested in the IPL, then lead into the T20 World Cup. And it’s somewhat of a quiet winter next year…in comparison to this winter, so I think a perfect opportunity to put my name in.”

One of the major reasons Starc has previously sidelined the IPL is his desire to ensure he is fully available for Test cricket. While not putting a timeline on how long his career will go, he would like to reach a century of appearances in the format. Glenn McGrath is the only fast bowler to achieve that milestone for Australia.

Starc currently sits on 82 Tests and if he features in all of Australia’s upcoming fixtures on the Future Tours Programme, his 100th game would come up during the 2025-26 Ashes.

“Not just get to 100, I’d like to be good enough to be picked for 100 Tests,” he said. “And then the big one obviously in a couple of weeks is the World Cup, which in India just goes to another level.

“And then you look at the one-day format, it’s sort of four years in between World Cups, so where do I see myself in that mix? But I’ve got to get to the end of this World Cup first.

“But we’ve got some superstars coming through. You’ve got your Jhye Richardsons, your Sean Abbotts, your Spencer Johnsons. You’ve got plenty of young guys coming through. [Lance] Morris is going to be a gun.

“I try not to look too far ahead with anything. Obviously, we want to do well in the World Cup. Then we’ve got five Test matches here in Australia and then I haven’t actually played a Test in New Zealand, so hopefully I’m on that tour and look forward to that challenge as well.”