During the toss, Australian captain Tim Paine mentioned that Starc had injured his leg and was replaced by Chadd Sayers.

Injury concerns have now become a headache for the Australian bowling unit as this is the third time Starc is missing out the squad within a span of one year. India tour and the 4th test in Ashes are examples of the same.

Mitchell starc injured his right leg in the nets and will be out of action for the fourth test against South Africa and the IPL 2018.

This also means that Kolkata Knight Riders will miss his services for this edition of IPL. He was bought for a whopping 9.4 crores by the franchise and they should start looking for a replacement right away. In his absence, Vinay Kumar is expected to lead the attack with the likes of youngsters Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi.

This is the third consecutive year Starc will not be a part of the cash-rich league. He played 27 matches for the Royal Challengers in IPL taking 34 scalps at an economy of 7.17.

Cricket Australia tweeted the news a few minutes ago and this came as a shock to the Australian squad who are already left broken without Warner and Smith.

BREAKING: Mitchell Starc has a 'tibial bone stress in his right leg'.

He will return home for further assessment after the Test and will miss the IPL.

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) March 30, 2018

CA mentioned it as “tibial bone stress in right leg”  and mentioned that he will be returning home right after the test match.

Starc”s absence would have left a void in the Kolkata Knight Riders squad and franchise is expected to announce the replacement anytime soon.