Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani singled out Mitchell Starc for praise, calling the Australian left-arm quick “one of the best role models in cricket”. Badani said Starc’s impact inside the dressing room—especially on the younger players—is every bit as meaningful as the match-winning bursts he produces with the ball. The comments arrived after Starc delivered a brutal four-wicket spell that dismantled Rajasthan Royals in the closing overs and helped DC secure a five-wicket win at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday night.
Even with Rajasthan placed at 160 for 2 after 14 overs, they could not quite reach the 200-run mark, finishing seven runs short. Starc’s control and variation sliced through their batting plan, leaving little opportunity for a late surge, with only 33 runs coming from the final six overs. That late collapse set up the chase for Delhi, who ultimately got home by five wickets.
In the post-match press conference, Badani spoke at length about what makes Starc stand out beyond the scoreboard. “I think Mitch is somebody, and honestly I don’t even know where to start. I think he’s possibly one of the best role models anyone can have in sport. His work ethic, his preparation before the game, his own planning and his training—everything is above par. I don’t even see that with a lot of the younger boys. That’s the reason why he’s sustained for so long,” Badani said. He added that Starc’s consistency has shown up on the biggest stages, pointing to the Ashes where he played a decisive role. “If you go back and see the recent Ashes series, he single-handedly won them the Ashes. There was no Pat Cummins, there was no Josh Hazlewood. That pretty much tells you what that man can do,” he said.
The match itself began unfavourably for Starc on a surface that offered a touch of grip and had previously been used when Punjab Kings chased 265 last month. He conceded 28 runs without taking a wicket in his first two overs, making the early spell costly. However, when DC captain Axar Patel brought him back for the 15th over, Starc changed the momentum in dramatic fashion, conceding just 12 runs while taking four wickets across his final two overs to blow apart Rajasthan’s innings.
Badani highlighted the subtle tactical shifts that made the difference: Starc altered his pace, used more slower balls—including deliveries that reversed slightly—and combined the variation with pinpoint accuracy. The result was a spell that was difficult to attack at the boundary, as batsmen struggled to find consistent timing and direction.
Starc’s wickets began with Riyan Parag, who struck his fastest IPL fifty during the season, but fell to a slower ball that he mistimed to long-on. Donovan Ferreira then departed for a duck on the next delivery, caught at long-on, again after a pace-on offering that did not sit up the way he wanted. After Ravi Singh flicked the hat-trick ball for four, Starc responded with another slower ball to trap him lbw, a decision confirmed by DRS. From there, Starc completed his four-wicket haul by getting Impact Player Dasun Shanaka with a low full toss clocked at 142 kmph, delivered from around the wicket, and he finished with the best figures by any DC bowler this season—fully derailing Rajasthan’s batting rhythm.
Badani also returned to the theme of mentorship when discussing the work Starc does with the younger players. “Speaking of the kind of work that he puts in with the younger lads, he’s always talking to them, he’s always trying to pass on the knowledge—how can you do reverse swing, how do I hold lengths, what do I do when a certain batter is going hard, do I look to pick wickets, do I look to try and be submissive and be defensive. There’s immense conversation that Starcy brings to the table. I think, as I said earlier, being slightly repetitive, massive role model,” he added.
Badani noted that Sunday’s performance was not the first time Starc repeatedly pushed games in DC’s favour against Rajasthan. On May 1 in Jaipur, Starc returned to IPL action in 2026 and finished with figures of 3 for 40. His influence was even sharper in last season’s meeting in New Delhi, where he struck at the right moments with his yorkers and guided DC to an unlikely victory in the Super Over.
With Starc having missed a significant portion of the campaign because of shoulder and elbow injuries, Badani admitted the situation was beyond the control of franchise coaches. “Ideally, I would want my players to be available to me from day one. Starc is probably one of my biggest players in my squad, and we’ve invested in him, and we know that he’s a match winner. But if there are certain things which are above my pay grade, and then certain things that are decided by associations and governing bodies, there’s very little that we can do,” Badani said.
He added that if Cricket Australia does not release a player, the franchise has limited options—pointing to similar circumstances involving Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. “Because if Cricket Australia does not release him, which was also the case with Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, there’s little a coach or any franchise can do about that. Hopefully we have a solution to it in the future,” he concluded.
Badani also gave special attention to seam-bowling all-rounder Madhav Tiwari, who troubled Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Shubham Dubey with slower balls. Tiwari’s inclusion came in Dharamshala, where he impressed with both bat and ball, and DC’s decision to bring in fresh faces paid off with a win.
Explaining why Tiwari fits the team’s current direction, Badani said the conversations around him had always pointed to a player who enjoys pressure and can contribute with the bat while also delivering across phases with the ball. “I think if I remember correctly about what was spoken of him was that he was somebody who liked the pressure, somebody who could bat, hit a long ball, and at the same time, somebody who could bowl through all three phases. If required, he could even bowl in the power play, which you haven’t seen much of it yet,” Badani said.
He added that Tiwari’s ability to move the ball was visible immediately, and that he has shown more than enough shape in the middle and death overs. “But you could see it in the last game that he could move the ball and there was some shape when he bowled. Again, in the middle overs and depth overs, he’s shown his prowess. So that’s pretty much the reason why we felt that he could be a part of our squad,” Badani said.
Badani finished by explaining the broader squad thinking behind the move toward younger players. “We just felt that we needed fresh minds, fresh legs. A couple of our senior players, unfortunately, haven’t had the run that they would have. We would have ideally liked them to have. Hence we felt that it’s maybe time for us to try and switch to the younger boys and we’ve been blessed with a couple of good wins,” he concluded.
