Australian bowler Mitchell Starc is yet to join the Delhi Capitals camp and it has been learned that the 36-year-old is likely to miss at least three more matches for the franchise. Starc is managing shoulder and elbow injuries at home and is highly unlikely to join the team before April 20. Before that, Delhi are scheduled to play three matches – against Gujarat Titans on April 8, CSK on April 11 and RCB on April 18 – and will be without the services of the star bowler.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!Think tank DC is optimistic that Starc will be with them at some point in the season, but timelines are unclear at this stage. In the left-hander’s absence, the Axar Patel-led unit won both matches against Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians and the all-round bowling unit put in a strong show. Mukesh Kumar was very punchy with the new ball. Lungi Ngidi and T Narajan were accurate in the heavy overs and the spinners – Axar, Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam – dominated the middle overs.Starc’s addition only adds significant bite to this powerful attack and the bowler remains in constant contact with the lead. In a post on social media last month, he revealed the nature of his injury and hit out at “misinformed opinions from players”.“Despite the views and opinions of certain individuals with their platforms in and through the Indian media, I am currently rehabilitating and recovering from a shoulder and elbow injury the extent of which I was unaware of during the Australian summer. These individuals have made some strong statements about being involved in the IPL and have given heavily misinformed player opinions, preached them as fact and claimed to know my body better than I do,” Starc.The pitcher claimed that he is committed to joining the DC team “as soon as possible”.“With that being said, I acknowledge this injury setback and that the timing is disruptive to the Delhi team and I apologize for that and to the fans that I will not be available for the start of this season. I remain committed to joining DC, am in constant communication with the team and will continue to do my best to be available for DC as soon as possible,” he added.Delhi Capitals will take on Gujarat Titans at home on April 8 and will look to continue their unbeaten run in the tournament. Young batsman Sameer Rizvi managed two chases under pressure and the management will now hope that the experienced batsmen around him will step up and make a big contribution. 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.
