Marcus Stoinis has stated that Cricket Australia's decision to exclude him from the central contracts list has not dampened his desire to continue playing international cricket beyond the T20 World Cup in June.
Stoinis is highly likely to be selected for Australia's squad for the World Cup in the West Indies and the United States. The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) batter showcased his top form with an impressive century in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) on Tuesday.
The 34-year-old scored an unbeaten 124 off 63 balls as Lucknow defeated hosts Chennai Super Kings by six wickets, propelling them into the top four in the points table.
Awarded Player of the Match, Stoinis refrained from describing his performance as a statement innings and expressed his strong rapport with Australia coach Andrew McDonald.
"Me not getting a contract, I knew that a while ago," Stoinis said after Lucknow's fifth win in eight matches.
"I think it's great to give younger kids a crack and let them take my spot. I'm absolutely fine with that on the contract list.
"But on the playing front, I still obviously want to make sure that I'm there, and that's also why it's so lucky for us and for me particularly to have this competition (the IPL)...
"I started my career pretty much here and who knows I finish it here."
Stoinis batted at number three LSG lost Quinton de Kock in the first over, enabling the Australian to manage his innings.
"In this competition, there are plenty of better opening batters than me, so I'll let them do their job," he said.
"It is nice to get in early and build an innings but I have settled in the middle order."
Stoinis struck six sixes and 13 fours in his innings, but he emphasised that it wasn't mindless hitting.
"There was ebb and flow in the whole innings. There were some bowlers we wanted to target, some that we played more cautiously against."
Five-time champions Chennai slipped to fifth following their fourth loss in eight matches.
- Marcus Stoinis
