Mitchell Starc hits back at Indian media over IPL 2026 availability reports- IPL

There were many speculations about why Mitchell Starc is not joining the Delhi Capitals team for the IPL 2026 tournament. Now, the reason behind this is clear. The reason behind this is that he is dealing with a shoulder and elbow injury. Currently, he is just trying to recover and get fit.

DC pacer recovering, confirms return plan for IPL 2026

There were many concerns among the fans too. Earlier, there were some doubts too about Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, but now they have joined their teams. Earlier, his wife, Alyssa Healy, too, talked about his injury. Now, he has said on Instagram that he is in touch with the team. Currently, he just wants to get fit.

Mitchell Starc was one of the key bowlers of the Delhi Capitals team in IPL 2025. He took 14 wickets in 11 matches. His best performance was taking 5 wickets for 35 runs. He also helped the team with his bowling. His economy rate was 10.16.

🚨STARC BREAKS SILENCE ON IPL ABSENCE🚨

Mitchell Starc said🎙️ – He is currently recovering from shoulder & elbow injuries & wasn’t aware of the full extent earlier.

👉 He also slammed misleading media claims about his absence & Apologised to DC fans👏pic.twitter.com/eZqlXqRefq

— Sam (@Cricsam01) March 28, 2026

Mitchell Starc posted on his Instagram story,

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 during the Australian summer.

These individuals have made some strong statements around involvement in the IPL and provided heavily misinformed opinions of players, presented them as facts, and claimed to know my body better than me.

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