Australian bowler Mitchell Starc is yet to join the Delhi Capitals camp and it is learned that the 36-year-old is likely to miss at least three more matches for the franchise. Starc is dealing with shoulder and elbow injuries back home and is highly unlikely to make the squad until April 20. Before that, Delhi have three games to play – against Gujarat Titans on April 8, CSK on April 11 and RCB on April 18 – and will be without the star bowler.Go beyond limits with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!The DC think tank is optimistic about Stark joining them at some point in the season, but timelines are unclear at this stage. In the left-armer’s absence, the Akshar Patel-led unit won both their games against Lucknow Supergiants and Mumbai Indians, and the versatile bowling unit put in a strong performance. Mukesh Kumar has been very quick with the new ball. Lungi Ngidi and T Narjan were accurate in the tight overs and spinners- Aksar, Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam controlled the middle overs.
Starc’s addition will only add to this potent attack, and the bowler is in constant touch with the management. In a social media post last month, he revealed the nature of his injury and criticized “misinformed opinions of players”.“Despite the opinions and views of certain individuals in the Indian media and with their platforms, I am currently rehabilitating and managing my shoulder and elbow injury, the extent of which I did not know during the Australian summer. These individuals have made some harsh statements about joining the IPL and have given them a lot of misinformation, more misinformation than they have, as better than the facts about my body contenders. But know me,” Stark wrote in a statement.The bowler insisted he is committed to joining the DC squad “as soon as possible”.“With that said, I recognize the blow of this injury and that the timing is troubling for the Delhi team, and I apologize to him and the fans for not being available for the early part of this season. I am committed to joining DC, am in constant contact with the team, and will do what I can to be available to DC as soon as possible.”
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Delhi Capitals next face Gujarat Titans at home on April 8 and will look to continue their unbeaten run in the tournament. Young batsman Sameer Rizvi has taken two chases under pressure and the management will now hope that the experienced batsmen around him step up and make substantial contributions. DC are one of the four unbeaten teams in the tournament and a win over GT will take them to the top of the IPL 2026 points table.
