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IPL 2026: After days of anticipation, Australian pace ace Mitchell Starc returned to action in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 during Delhi Capitals’ (DC) clash against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Friday, May 1.

At the toss, DC captain Axar Patel confirmed Starc’s inclusion in the Playing XI for the match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

Mitchell Starc had been sidelined for an extended spell due to shoulder and elbow injuries.

The 36-year-old left-arm pacer has been out of action since late January, following a demanding Ashes campaign in which he was named Player of the Series after taking 31 wickets at an average of 19.93.

Starc bowled more than 150 overs across five Tests before featuring in five matches for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League (BBL). His last outing came against the Perth Scorchers, where he injured his left shoulder and elbow while attempting a catch. Although he took a break in February, persistent soreness upon resuming bowling further delayed his IPL return.

DC Make Three Changes During RR Clash In Jaipur 

At the toss, Delhi Capitals skipper Axar Patel revealed that the team had made several changes for their clash against Rajasthan Royals. He confirmed that Dushmantha Chameera was left out of the Playing XI, while Pathum Nissanka came in to replace the injured Sahil Parikh. Patel further stated that David Miller had been rested, with Ashutosh Sharma taking his place in the line-up.

"Starc is playing and unfortunately Chameera isn't playing. Sahil Parikh got injured and Pathum is playing in his place, that'll be four overseas players which means David Miller sits out. Ashutosh Sharma is also there, so these are the three changes," Axar Patel said as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Ravi Bishnoi Returns To Action For RR

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag confirmed that Ravi Bishnoi has returned to the Playing XI, replacing Shubham Dubey.

"I think it's not the usual Jaipur wicket. It's a bit dry; we noticed that yesterday and the pitch played a little faster on the other day. So hopefully it gets a little slow in the back end, so that's why we're batting first... Bishnoi comes back in and Shubham is into the main team," Parag said.

In the 43rd match of the IPL 2026, Rajasthan Royals opted to bat against Delhi Capitals, on May 1.

Delhi Capitals Playing XI: KL Rahul (Wk), Pathum Nissanka, Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (C), Ashutosh Sharma, Kyle Jamieson, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan.

Rajasthan Royals Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (Wk), Riyan Parag (C), Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubham Dubey, Jofra Archer, Ravi Bishnoi, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma.