3 min readMar 23, 2026 05:14 PM IST
Delhi Capitals are hopeful that their ace pacer Mitchell Starc will join the squad before their Indian Premier League 2026 season opener against Lucknow Super Giants on April 1. Starc has yet to receive the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Cricket Australia (CA) as the board included their star fast bowler in the workload management program.
DC head coach Hemang Badani said the management is in constant touch with the CA and is waiting for them to grant Starc the NOC.
“We are waiting to get the NOC from Cricket Australia. Once we get that, we will know when he will join us,” said Badani in a media interaction on Monday ahead of IPL 2026.
“We are in constant touch with CA. He has been bowling, he had a bowled few days back. Unless Cricket Australia signs off on him that he is fit to play, there is little a franchise can do,” said the coach when asked if the delay in issuing NOC was due to fitness or workload management.
It was reported by cricket.com.au that Starc will miss the start of IPL 2026.
DC director of cricket Venugopal Rao assured that Starc will be flying to India for IPL 2026 and it’s just a matter of time before the left-handed will be granted his NOC. “He is coming; it is just a question of getting the NOC from Cricket Australia. They are monitoring, we are monitoring (his fitness and workload),” said Rao.
CA is taking a cautious approach to managing its pacers ahead of a gruelling international schedule, which resulted in Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru being without their star fast bowlers for the first few games. SRH’s Pat Cummins and RCB’s Josh Hazlewood will also miss the first phase of IPL 2026 due to CA’s workload management plan.
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When Skipper Axar Patel was asked if T Natrajan can play in place of Starc if the latter doesn’t arrive on time for team’s first game against LSG in Lucknow, he said, “It is tough to answer that at this stage. If Starc gets NOC, he can come before the first match also. We are waiting for that update. If he doesnt come there is no temptation to replace a left arm pacer with a left arm pacer. It is about team combination. Having said that, Natajaran is doing really well and is 100 per cent fit.”
