The fast bowler Mitchell Starc was ruled out of the IPL XI due to a stress fracture in his right leg.

Australia's injury-prone fast bowler Mitchell Starc was on Friday ruled out of the IPL XI due to a stress fracture in his right leg, dealing a blow to his franchise Kolkata Knight Riders' prospects.

The pacer was also ruled out of the fourth and final Test against South Africa, which started in Johannesburg on Friday.

"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 Australia tweeted.

The left-arm pacer was bought by KKR for Rs 9.4 crore at the IPL auction in January, but will not take place in the lucrative tournament this season now.

Starc was replaced for the final Test against South Africa by South Australia's Chadd Sayers and will fly home after the series for further injury investigation and assessment.

While Starc is one the deadliest Twenty20 bowlers in the world, he has not played in the IPL since 2015 when he lined up for Royal Challengers Bangalore



alongside elite batsmen Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.

In fact, Starc has played just three T20s since the end of the 2015 IPL: one match against England in August 2015 and two matches against Sri Lanka 13 months later.

It's the third Test series in a row where Starc has missed at least one Test.Against India last year, a stress fracture to his foot ruled him out of the final two Tests which lead him to miss the two-Test series against Bangladesh later in the year.

A foot injury again proved his undoing in the Ashes as well where he missed the Boxing Day Test. Starc was named Man of the Match in the first Test for his match haul of 9-109 in Australia's 118-run win in Durban, but captured only three wickets in the next two Tests as he battled a sore calf.

On match eve, Starc bowled out in the middle to Australia's new Test squad members with team physiotherapist David Beakley watching on. But the 28-year-old was deemed not fit to play at The Wanderers and now faces an extended stint on the sidelines.