IPL 2026, LSG vs DC Today Match: Delhi Capitals began their Indian Premier League 2026 campaign without star pacer Mitchell Starc in their opening clash against Lucknow Super Giants at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Starc is unavailable due to shoulder and elbow injuries and is currently undergoing rehabilitation. The left-arm pacer confirmed in a social media statement that he is managing the injury and remains in touch with the franchise regarding his return.
"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 during the Australian summer. These individuals have made some strong statements around involvement in the IPL and provided heavily misinformed opinions of players, presented them as facts, and claimed to know my body better than me," Starc wrote on Instagram story.
"With that said, I do acknowledge this injury setback, and timing is disruptive to the Delhi team, and I apologize for that and to the fans for not being available for the early part of this season. I remain committed to joining DC, am in continuous communication updating the team, and will continue to do what I can to be available for DC asap," Mitchell Starc added.
Starc’s absence is a setback for Delhi Capitals, with the 36-year-old having been one of their leading bowlers last season. He took 14 wickets in 10 matches in IPL 2025 and has 65 wickets in 49 innings overall in the tournament. In his absence, Delhi Capitals included South Africa pacer Lungi Ngidi in the playing XI. Ngidi was signed for his base price in the IPL 2026 auction and comes into the match on the back of a strong T20 World Cup campaign.
Delhi Capitals won the toss and opted to field first in the match.
Playing XIs:
Lucknow Super Giants: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (w/c), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary, Mohsin Khan, Mohammed Shami, Anrich Nortje, Prince Yadav
Delhi Capitals: KL Rahul (w), Pathum Nissanka, Nitish Rana, Axar Patel (c), Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Vipraj Nigam, Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar
Impact substitutes:
Lucknow Super Giants: Digvesh Rathi, Avesh Khan, Himmat Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akshat Raghuvanshi
Delhi Capitals: Ashutosh Sharma, Auqib Nabi, Sameer Rizvi, Dushmantha Chameera, Karun Nair
