Delhi Capitals’ (DC) left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc turned the tide in one over, standing his team’s comeback against Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of slog overs. Starc picked up three wickets in the 15th over, not letting RR finish with a flourish and post a daunting target in DC’s last home clash of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 on May 18. Starc ended up winning the ‘Player of the match’ for his four-fer. The veteran Australian pacer earned massive praise from DC head coach Hemang Badani. However, Badani rued Starc’s absence in DC’s initial part of the campaign where their bowling was the weak link. The former India batter said that ideally he would’ve wanted Starc to join earlier but these discussions are ‘above his pay grade’.
"I would want my players to be available to me from day one and Starc is probably one of the biggest players in my squad and we've invested in him and we know that he's a match-winner," Badani said in the post-match conference.
"But if there are certain things which are above my pay grade and certain things are decided by associations and governing bodies, there's very little that we can do.
"If Cricket Australia does not release him, which was also the case with Hazlewood [Royal Challengers Bengaluru] and Pat Cummins [Sunrisers Hyderabad], as a coach or franchise, we can't do much about that. Hopefully we have a solution to it in the future."
Starc’s numbers in IPL 2026
Starc joined DC earlier this month for the RR game. He is already their second-highest wicket-taker in the season. After missing eight games, he has claimed nine wickets from five appearances at an average of 22. His economy rate has been on the higher side at 10.42 runs per over.
Why Badani rates Starc so highly?
Badani is in awe of Starc’s work ethic. He recalled how Starc performed in the Ashes 2025-26, winning it for Australia in the absence of skipper Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. He also praised the pacer for having conversations with the youngsters in the DC squad.
"His work ethic, his preparation before the game with his own plans and his training are above par. I don't even see that with a lot of the younger boys, that's the reason why he has sustained for so long," Badani said.
"If you go back and see the recent Ashes series, he single-handedly won them the Ashes - there was no Pat Cummins, there was no Josh Hazlewood; that pretty much tells you what that man can do.
"Speaking of the kind of work that he puts in with the younger lads: he's always talking to them, he's always trying to pass on the knowledge - how can you do reverse swing, how do I hold lengths, what do I do when a certain batter is going hard; do I look to pick wickets or do I look to try and be submissive and be defensive. There's immense conversation that Starcy brings to the table."
DC technically alive in the playoffs
With their sixth win from 13 games, DC will now have to do the toughest job – wait and watch. They will see the other six teams who are alive in the playoffs spot till May 24 when they go up against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). They will have a clear picture before the end of the week.