Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has confirmed that he will not be playing the upcoming 11th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL). The former Rising Pune Supergiant star instead will play for Sussex in England's County Championship, starting April 13.
Marsh said he had to make a "fairly big decision" considering the money involved in the cash-rich league in India. Notably, the 26-year-old was bought by the now-defunct RPS side for Rs 4.8 crore.
The decision has been taken keeping in mind his future in the Australian Test team, according to Marsh. Notably, Steve Smith's men will head to England for their Ashes title defence in 2019.
"It was a fairly big decision from a money point of view but my ultimate goal is to play Test match cricket for Australia. That's the lure of the IPL - the money and playing in India, but I made the decision based on my cricket," Marsh was quoted as saying by cricbuzz.
He added: "When I made that decision I didn't really think I was going to be back there this quickly. But I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to play 14 red-ball games over there - if I can, and try and improve."
"Looking forward we've got a lot of cricket coming up in England over the next few years and I want to give myself the best opportunity to be over there and get used to the conditions."
In-form Marsh could have triggered bidding war
Notably, pacers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood had skipped the last edition of IPL, shortly after a four-Test series in India.
Marsh would have triggered a bidding war in the upcoming IPL auction, scheduled for early January as he got back to peak form in the ongoing Ashes at home.
He had struggled to seal his spot in the young Australian side despite getting a lot of chances. He was not part of the Australian squad for the first two Ashes Tests.
However, on his comeback match in Perth, Marsh hit 181 to help Australia take an unassailable 3-0 lead over England. In the recently-concluded fourth Test, the all-rounder was unbeaten on 29 from 166 balls as he and skipper Smith negated the chances of an English win on the final day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Marsh IPL career in numbers
Teams represented: Deccan Chargers, Pune Warriors, Rising Pune Supergiant
Matches played: 20
Runs scored: 225
Wickets taken: 20
