IPL 2026: Good News For Delhi Capitals as Mitchell Starc Joins Franchise After Recovering From Elbow And Shoulder Injuries

Australia pacer Mitchell Starc has officially joined the Delhi Capitals camp ahead of their fixture against Punjab Kings on Saturday at home. Earlier, the left-arm pacer had been cleared by Cricket Australia to resume competitive cricket.

Starc joins DC after recovering from elbow and shoulder injuries suffered during the Australian summer. The left-arm pacer will slowly build his workload once he arrives in India to regain full match fitness.

Starc is expected to play his first match of Indian Premier League 2026 against Rajasthan Royals on May 1, which will be the 43rd game of the season. He missed the early part of the tournament due to his injury.

Delhi Capitals: Heavy workload before injury

The 36-year-old had a busy season before getting injured. He played all five Tests in The Ashes, where Australia won 4-1, and he was named Player of the Series. He then featured for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League.

Delhi Capitals, who currently have a 3-3 record, will hope Starc strengthens their bowling attack, which has been led well by Lungi Ngidi, who has taken seven wickets so far.

Delhi Capitals: Mitchell Starc responds to criticism

Starc had earlier faced criticism for not joining the IPL on time. He responded strongly on social media, explaining his injury situation and defending his decision.

“Despite the opinions and views of certain individuals with their platforms in and through the Indian media, I’m currently rehabbing and managing an injury in my shoulder and elbow of which I didn’t know the extent of during the Australian summer. These individuals have made some strong statements around involvement in the IPL and provided heavily misinformed opinions of players, preached them as facts, and claim to know my body better than me,” Starc wrote.

Delhi Capitals Squad: Pathum Nissanka, KL Rahul(w), Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Axar Patel(c), Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan, Karun Nair, Dushmantha Chameera, Tripurana Vijay, Auqib Nabi Dar, Mitchell Starc, Kyle Jamieson, Rehan Ahmed, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Prithvi Shaw, Abishek Porel, Sahil Parakh, Vipraj Nigam, Madhav Tiwari

Also Read: DC vs PBKS | Will Prithvi Shaw Replace Pathum Nissanka? Mitchell Starc Likely to Play at Arun Jaitley Stadium — H2H Record, Pitch Report, Predicted Playing XIs | IPL Today Match