Australian pacer Mitchell Starc says he has got his hunger back after spending the past six months away from cricket due to injuries.
The left-armer is set to return to international cricket on Sunday when his side will take on the West Indies in an One-Day International here.
The 26-year-old hasn't been sighted on a cricket field since he bravely hobbled through for the winning runs in the day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval on November 29. After the game, the lanky fast bowler had to undergo an ankle and foot surgery which forced him out of the the ICC World T20 and then the Indian Premier League (IPL).
"It was nice to spend three or four months in the gym to get that strength back that I'd lost over 12 to 18 months of cricket. It was nice to get that back, rest the little things that I needed to and make sure the ankle and the foot were 100 percent right before I started to play cricket again," Starc was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on Friday.
"I think I've ticked all those boxes and that hunger has definitely come back a lot stronger that it was at the end of that Ashes series."
The New South Wales pacer also said he needed the break after a gruelling scheduled which also involved the Ashes.
"Coming off the end of the Ashes and the one-day stuff, I was pretty mentally fatigued and it was nice to have a little break at home through the Matador Cup (last October)," Starc said.
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"So having six months off, although it was through injury, was nice to refresh a little bit and go through what I have to do in terms of cricket and strength wise."
--IANS
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