Mitchell Starc replacement options for IPL 2026 [Source: X]Friday morning struck Delhi Capitals fans with concerning news of Mitchell Starc's unavailability from the early stages of IPL 2026, confirmed by Cricket Australia. After a long Test summer, followed by the BBL stint, the left-arm quick is going to manage his workload for the packed international schedule for the next 18 months.While he is not nursing any injury and is likely to join the Delhi Capitals in the middle of the season, looking at the history and his long absence from the IPL, the Capitals would like to assess their options. Many overseas pacers are dealing with injuries across franchises, and the available options in the market are limited, with PSL 11 clashing with IPL 2026.So, as the Starc is set to miss the early part of IPL 2026, we take a look at the options that the Delhi Capitals can sign in case the pacer is ruled out of the tournament.\Mitchell Starc replacements for Delhi Capitals for IPL 20261. Spencer JohnsonMitchell Starc's countryman is the most prominent pacer available in the market after he recently pulled out of the PSL 11. He is a like-for-like replacement as a left-arm pacer, who can bowl in both the powerplay and the death overs.Ahead of IPL 2026, Johnson has missed a few months of cricket due to a recurring back injury — also meaning that he would come to IPL fresh and rested. Previously, he has featured for Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans and had a base price of INR 1.50 crore in the auction, going unsold.CriterionSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TablePowerplaySelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableDeath Overs (15-20)SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableInningsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table70SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table54SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableWicketsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table32SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table34SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableEconomy rateSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table7.35SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table8.34SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableAvg/SRSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table29.50/24.10SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table19.10/12.90SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableBest figuresSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table2/6SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table3/17SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table(Spencer Johnson's stats in T20 powerplays and death overs)Also Read: RCB, SRH On High Alert As IPL-Bound Sri Lanka Players To Give Fitness Tests2. Fazalhaq FarooqiAfghanistan's hero in their run to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, Fazalhaq Farooqi, is another frontline left-arm quick, who went unsold in the IPL 2026 auction. He was also an important member of the Afghanistan squad in the recent T20 mega event, but like the last IPL, he did not have a great time.Nonetheless, with bleak options in the market, Farooqi is among the better left-arm pacers who can bowl in both powerplay and death overs, like Starc and Johnson. He is more experienced than Johnson, making him a good replacement option for the Delhi Capitals. CriterionSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TablePowerplaySelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableDeath Overs (15-20)SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableInningsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table139SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table120SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableWicketsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table84SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table74SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableEconomy rateSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table7.24SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table8.58SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableAvg/SRSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table24.50/20.30SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table19.70/13.80SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableBest figuresSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table3/13SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table4/8 (Fazalhaq Farooqi's stats in T20 powerplays and death overs)3. Shadley van SchalkwykThe USA pacer was one of the best bowlers of the recently concluded T20 World Cup, who used his slower balls and variations to perfection. At 37, he is vastly experienced, with 124 T20 matches under his belt, picking 133 wickets at an economy rate of under 8 runs per over.He does not have any previous stint in the IPL, but has been a part of the Knight Riders' setup in ILT20 and Major League Cricket. For the LA Knight Riders, he has picked 16 wickets in 12 innings with the best figures of 3/24.Despite only playing the group stage matches in the T20 World Cup, he was the second-highest wicket-taker of the competition behind the joint-leaders, Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy. He picked 13 wickets, only one less than the duo with four-fers against India and Pakistan.CriterionSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableStatsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableInningsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table4SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableWicketsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table13SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableEconomy rateSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table6.80SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableAvg/SRSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table7.76/6.84SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableBest FiguresSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table4/25SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table4WSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table2SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table(Shadley van Schalkwyk in ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026)Conclusion: Who is the best replacement for Mitchell Starc in IPL 2026?In an ideal situation, the Delhi Capitals do not need to replace Mitchell Starc for IPL 2026. As it is revealed by Cricket Australia's press release, Starc is not injured and will most likely join the DC camp in the middle of the season.Additionally, they have a variety of options to pick from in their squad. Among the overseas players, apart from Lungi Ngidi, who is among the first-choice starters, they have Dushmantha Chameera and Kyle Jamieson. Chameera can operate in the middle and death overs, while Jamieson is a specialist powerplay seamer.Apart from the overseas ones, DC also have Auqib Nabi, Mukesh Kumar and T Natarajan, who excel in different phases. Hence, Mitchell Starc is and should be unlikely to be replaced.Also Read: 3 Potential Replacements For Nathan Ellis In CSK’s IPL 2026 Squad
