Mitchell Starc hit out at what he described as "heavily misinformed" reports regarding his fitness as he pledged to make his Indian Premier League return for Delhi Capitals as soon as possible.

The Australia paceman is set to miss Delhi's opening matches in the 2026 IPL, with their first assignment seeing them face Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday.

Starc's absence from the Delhi squad had been questioned by several prominent IPL pundits, including former India captain Sunil Gavaskar.

Those questions had been asked amid a debate surrounding overseas players' commitment to the IPL, with England batter Ben Duckett among those to withdraw from the competition earlier this week as he cited a need to prepare for his upcoming international engagements.

And Duckett's Delhi team-mate Starc has now responded to suggestions his early IPL absence is voluntary, revealing he aggravated elbow and shoulder issues while representing Australia in the Ashes. 

On Saturday, Starc hit back at his critics in an Instagram story, writing: "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, which I didn't know the extent of during the Australian summer. 

Bringing the Tiger energy to all the cities soon  pic.twitter.com/fejSf0uifG

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) March 27, 2026

"These individuals have made some strong statements around involvement in the IPL and provided heavily misinformed opinions of players, preached them as facts, and claim to know my body better than me.

"With that said, I do acknowledge this injury setback and timing is disruptive to the Delhi team and I apologise 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 continual communication updating the team, and will continue to do what I can to be available for DC asap."

Delhi Capitals missed out on the IPL playoffs last year, finishing fifth in the table and just a single point behind Mumbai Indians in fourth.