Michael Clarke has not ruled out another stint in the Indian Premier League as he ponders the next stage of his life following his retirement from international cricket.
While the 34-year-old's days as an international player came to an end after the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval, he will continue his career this summer as captain of Melbourne Stars in the KFC Big Bash League. Clarke secured a two-year contract with the Stars in April, meaning he will continue to play until just before his 36th birthday.
The former captain says he will spend the next few weeks weighing up his options after a whirlwind end to his Test career that culminated in his fourth series defeat on British soil.
While excited about exploring life outside cricket, Clarke says the game will remain in his blood and did not rule out the option of another season in the IPL.
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That's probably one of the things I've got to think about over the next week or so
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- Clarke told Triple M's Hot Breakfast when asked about the prospect of playing in the world's biggest T20 competition.
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What I'm going to do there, am I going to look at that as an option? I'll spend the next few days trying to sum that up. See where my mind is at, see where my body is at and have a good think about it.
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"(Wife) Kyly and I are going to go away for a week or so before I fly back home. And that's just going to give me some time to have a think about what I'm going to do when I get home.I haven't had a chance to press stop and have a think about things. Now I've finally got that opportunity I just want to make the most of that and spend some time with her and have a really good think."
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It's exciting. Cricket's been in my life since the age of six when I started playing this great game. I think it'll always be in my blood but it's exciting now to try some new things that I'm really looking forward to.
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Clarke regularly turned down the big money on offer in the IPL during his career to focus instead on international cricket.
He played one season with the now defunct Pune Warriors in 2012, scoring 98 runs in six matches at a strike-rate of 104.25, but hasn't played any form of T20 cricket since. The right-hander stepped down as Australia's T20 captain in in early 2011 having led his country to the final of the 2010 World Twenty20 in the Caribbean.
One of Clarke's final acts as Australian captain was to join his teammates in sharing a drink with England's players after the tourists' big win at The Oval. The Australians had declined England's offer for a post-match drink following the first Test in Cardiff, with the modern trend being the two teams socialise at the end of a series. After a hard-fought campaign, the Australians spent several hours in the England rooms as the home side toasted their series win.
"It was good, like it always is after a series win or lose," Clarke said.
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Since I've been captain we've always gone into the opposition's change rooms. They're a good bunch of fellas. They played really well. Cooky's a great guy. We've had a long standing relationship, played a lot of cricket against each other and we always try and catch up after the series. So it was important to get in there and congratulate them and have that beer. The positive side for us is we won that last Test so that probably put a little smile on our face too.
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Source - CA