Ahead of the IPL 2026, Delhi Capitals (DC) is one of the several franchises that are awaiting confirmation for the arrival of their overseas players, who may end up missing the tournament partially or in its entirety due to various reasons.

For Delhi Capitals (DC), that player is their strike bowler Mitchell Starc, who is also slated to miss the first stage, with Cricket Australia (CA) allegedly monitoring his workload.

DC head coach Hemang Badani acknowledges that they are still expecting a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from CA and have no updates about Starc's availability.

“We are waiting for an NOC from Cricket Australia; once we get that, then only we can say anything about Starc’s availability," Badani told reporters in New Delhi on Monday.

DC Director of Cricket Venugopal Rao, though, added that Starc’s fitness remains a concern.

“Starc will come; we are just waiting for the NOC because his fitness is a concern. We are just waiting for it," he said.

Starc, 36, was Delhi Capitals' second-highest wicket-taker with 14 from 11 games in IPL 2025, and he was retained after signing for INR 11.75 crore.

Starc is one of numerous Australian talents who are uncertain about the 2018 IPL, which begins on March 28. Josh Hazlewood (RCB) and Pat Cummins (SRH) will both miss the first few matches for their respective teams.

Jack Edwards (SRH) and Nathan Ellis (Chennai Super Kings) are already expected to miss the full season due to injury.

DC will open their IPL 2026 campaign when they face Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on April 1.