Captain of Delhi Capitals (DC) Akshar Patel has confirmed that the team is waiting for Cricket Australia to grant it a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to veteran fast bowler Mitchell Starc to compete in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
Recently, it emerged that the veteran left-arm fast bowler will be arriving late for his stint with DC in the IPL, with Cricket Australia managing his workload ahead of a very busy international calendar.
Akshar has said that if Starc is given the NOC on time, the left-arm fast bowler can take part in DC's opening game of the season. The capital city team will play its first match against Lucknow Super Giants on 01 April. Axar also clarified that if Starc is not available for the initial stages of the IPL, there is no compulsion to replace him with another left-arm fast bowler in the form of T. Natarajan if it upsets the balance of the team.
“It is difficult to answer this at this stage. If stark If he gets NOC, he can come even before the first match. We are waiting for that update. If he doesn't come, there is no temptation to replace the left-arm fast bowler with a left-arm fast bowler. It's about team composition. Having said that, Natjaran is doing really well and is 100 per cent fit,” Axar said at the press conference as quoted by NDTV.
DC head coach Hemang Badani also confirmed that Starc is fit and bowling in the nets. However, the franchise's hands will be tied until they get a positive update from Starc's national cricket board to get the nod to participate in the cash-rich tournament.
“We are waiting to get the NOC from Cricket Australia. Once we get that, we will know when he will join us. “We are in constant touch with CA. He is bowling, he bowled a few days ago. Unless Cricket Australia signs off on him that he is fit to play, no franchise can do anything,” Badani said.
stark will be greatly missed DC Before the 2026 IPL season. The left-handed batsman took 14 wickets in 11 matches in his debut campaign at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. However, DC have overseas replacements for the Australian in the form of Lungi Ngidi and Dushmantha Chameera.
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