When Will Mitchell Starc Join IPL 2026? Star Bowler Slams Indian Media

Delhi Capitals (DC) are mulling over the availability of ace pacer Mitchell Starc ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The fast bowler hasn’t joined the team yet as DC’s tournament opener against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) approaches.

Just ahead of the IPL, it was learned, as per Cricket Australia, that Mitchell Starc will miss the first few games of IPL 2026 as part of workload management as the team wants him fresh for the upcoming Test series. This saw the pacer face a lot of backlash for skipping the biggest cricket league in the world, IPL.

When Will Mitchell Starc Join DC Camp?

With Starc, one of the best bowlers in the world, facing criticism, he lashed out at the fans for their opinion. He confirmed that he is in rehabilitation for shoulder and elbow injury, which he sustained during Australian summer. He hit at the critics, saying that the Indian media claim to know about his body better than him. Taking to his Instagram account, he said:

"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," Starc stated.

“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.”

Mitchell Starc also apologized to fans for not being part of IPL 2026. However, he stated that he is fully committed to join Delhi Capitals and is in constant touch with team management. The left-arm pacer also accepted that this injury came at a wrong time and even apologised to Delhi fans for his unavailability.

"With that said I do acknowledge this injury setback and timing is disruptive to the Delhi team and I apologise for that and to the fans for not being available for the early part of this season. I remain committed to join DC, am in continual communication updating the team and will continue to do what I can to be available for DC asap," he concluded.

Alyssa Healy Confirms Mitchell Starc Injury

In a drastic turn of events, Mitchell Starc’s wife Alyssa Healy also confirmed the pacer is battling injury and he will be joining the Delhi Capitals late. The former Australian women's cricketer confirmed the development on Instagram while replying to a fan.

Mitchell Starc IPL 2026 absence will leave a massive void in DC’s lineup at the start of the tournament. The premier pacer played a decent role and picked 14 wickets in 11 games for Delhi at an average of 26.14 and an economy of 10.16, including a five-wicket haul.

He was in a sensational form in The Ashes 2025-26, where he picked up 31 scalps and also slammed two half-centuries as well. In his absence, it is expected that Dushmantha Chameera, Mukesh Kumar, Auqib Nabi, and Lungi Ngidi are likely to be the frontline pacers for the Capitals.