IPL 2026: Mitchell Starc gets go-ahead from Cricket Australia to feature in marquee tournament

Mitchell Starc (Pic: File Pic)

Star pacer Mitchell Starc has been cleared by Cricket Australia (CA) to make his appearance in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). With this, he is expected to feature for Delhi Capitals (DC) in the clash against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on May 1.

The left-arm quick has been sidelined since January due to elbow and shoulder niggles. He played a key role across all five Ashes Tests, earning the Player of the Series honour, before featuring in five Big Bash League games for Sydney Sixers later that month.

"Starc is expected to build up his workloads on the ground in India and is on track to make his debut for the 2026 season in Delhi's May 1 match against Rajasthan Royals," reported Cricket.com.au.

Earlier, the pacer missed out on the initial phase of the marquee tournament, which in turn sparked debate over the commitment of overseas players.

On the other hand, Australian captain Pat Cummins is also set to make his first appearance in the ongoing edition of the league for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Josh Hazlewood has already featured in the matches for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Before facing the Royals on May 1, the Capitals are scheduled to play two matches. They will first lock horns with the Punjab Kings (PBKS) on April 25 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Later, they will take on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on April 27 at the same venue.

IPL 2026, Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals: Full Squads

Delhi Capitals: David Miller, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, KL Rahul (WK), Karun Nair, Axar Patel (C), Ben Duckett (WK), Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Rana, Kyle Jamieson, Lungi Ngidi, T. Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, Pathum Nissanka, Ajay Mandal, Prithvi Shaw, Ashutosh Sharma, Auqib Nabi, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Abhishek Porel (WK), Vipraj Nigam, Tripurana Vijay, Sahil Parakh, Madhav Tiwari.

Rajasthan Royals: Ravindra Jadeja, Sandeep Sharma, Adam Milne, Donovan Ferreira (WK), Jofra Archer, Shimron Hetmyer, Tushar Deshpande, Sam Curran, Nandre Burger, Riyan Parag (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Sen, Ravi Bishnoi, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Sushant Mishra, Yudhvir Singh, Shubham Dubey, Vignesh Puthur, Aman Rao, Kwena Maphaka, Yash Punja, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ravi Singh (WK), Brijesh Sharma.

(With PTI Inputs)