Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc has confirmed he is recovering from a shoulder and elbow injury and hopes to be available for Delhi Capitals (DC) “asap” in IPL 2026. On Saturday, Starc took to social media to respond to “heavily misinformed opinions” opinions about his unavailability.

“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. 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.

“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, are in continual communication updating the team, and will continue to do what I can to be available for DC asap.”

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After finishing fifth last season, DC begin their IPL 2026 campaign with an away fixture against Lucknow Super Giants on April 1. In Starc’s absence, their other overseas fast-bowling options are Kyle Jamieson, Lungi Ngidi and Dushmantha Chameera. How they fill the void left by Starc, who took 14 wickets in 11 games last season, remains to be seen.

Starc was retained for INR 11.75 crore by DC before the 2026 auction. He was Australia’s spearhead in the 2025-26 Ashes, playing all five Tests and winning the Player-of-the-Series award after a 4-1 win. His last appearance was for Sydney Sixers in the BBL on January 25.

Cricket Australia is monitoring the workload of their fast bowlers closely ahead of a busy international season following the IPL. They are scheduled to play 21 Tests from August 2026 to July 2027, including four Tests in four weeks against New Zealand in December-January. Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins are also missing the first few games for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively, though unlike Starc they have joined their IPL squads.