IPL 2026: Injured Mitchell Starc likely to miss three more DC games

Mitchel Starc (Source: IPL/X)

Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc is expected to miss three more games before he joins the Delhi Capitals (DC) camp at the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL). The 36-year-old is currently recovering from a shoulder and elbow injury, which has seen him miss the opening two matches of the current season.

Starc has not played professional cricket since representing the Sydney Sixers in five Big Bash League matches towards the end of January. Before that, he played in all five Ashes Test matches against England, where he ended up as the Player of the Tournament after taking 31 wickets.

According to reports, Starc is now unlikely to join the DC squad till April 20, which will see him miss a further three games for the 2020 finalists. The team from the capital city are due to face the Gujarat Titans on April 8, followed by the Chennai Super Kings on April 11 and then defending champions the Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 18. If things are right on schedule, DC can expect their star pacer to join the team a day before their game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Starc is arguably one of the finest bowlers in current times. DC, however, have not missed his presence after winning their opening two games of the new season. They started the campaign by beating Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) before claiming victory over the Mumbai Indians.

Axar Patel’s side saw T.Natarajan and Lungi Ngidi come good against LSG, where both took three wickets each to win them the game. In their second game against MI, Mukesh Kumar stepped up and took two wickets in one over to put DC in the driver’s seat.

Starc joined DC ahead of the 2025 season after helping the Kolkata Knight Riders win the IPL title in 2024. The left-arm fast bowler took 14 wickets from 11 matches last time around, including a five-wicket haul against SRH at Visakhapatnam.