Australia pacer Mitchell Starc has joined the Delhi Capitals camp nearly a month into the IPL 2026 season. Starc had been dealing with shoulder and elbow injuries, with Cricket Australia closely monitoring his situation. They gave him clearance to join the Capitals squad earlier this week, although he is not fully match-ready.
Starc arrived in India in advance to acclimate to local conditions and is expected to be available for selection starting May 1 for the match against Rajasthan Royals. Despite joining the camp earlier today, he remains unavailable for the ongoing match against Punjab Kings. However, Delhi has managed well in his absence, with South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi performing commendably. It remains to be seen if Starc will be included in the playing XI against Rajasthan Royals.
During his time with the team, Starc participated in training sessions as they prepared for the match against PBKS.
Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel won the toss and elected to bat first at Arun Jaitley Stadium. Patel explained the rationale behind this decision, noting the dry nature of the wicket, which he believes will provide assistance to bowlers in the second innings.
“We will bowl first. It looks a bit dry and it’s quite hot as well. We’re thinking of putting up a good total first and then trying to defend it. From the looks of it, it seems like it will slow down a bit later, and the bowlers might get some help as well,” Axel stated.
The playing XI for Punjab Kings includes: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Priyansh Arya, Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, and Yuzvendra Chahal.
The Delhi Capitals lineup features: KL Rahul (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel (c), Nitish Rana, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, and Mukesh Kumar.
