Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani singled out Mitchell Starc for praise, calling the Australian left-arm quick \u201cone of the best role models in cricket\u201d. Badani said Starc\u2019s impact inside the dressing room\u2014especially on the younger players\u2014is 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
In the post-match press conference, Badani spoke at length about what makes Starc stand out beyond the scoreboard. \u201cI think Mitch is somebody, and honestly I don\u2019t even know where to start. I think he\u2019s 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\u2014everything is above par. I don\u2019t even see that with a lot of the younger boys. That\u2019s the reason why he\u2019s sustained for so long,\u201d Badani said. He added that Starc\u2019s consistency has shown up on the biggest stages, pointing to the Ashes where he played a decisive role. \u201cIf 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s innings.<\/p>\n
Badani highlighted the subtle tactical shifts that made the difference: Starc altered his pace, used more slower balls\u2014including deliveries that reversed slightly\u2014and 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.<\/p>\n
Starc\u2019s 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\u2014fully derailing Rajasthan\u2019s batting rhythm.<\/p>\n
Badani also returned to the theme of mentorship when discussing the work Starc does with the younger players. \u201cSpeaking of the kind of work that he puts in with the younger lads, he\u2019s always talking to them, he\u2019s always trying to pass on the knowledge\u2014how 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\u2019s immense conversation that Starcy brings to the table. I think, as I said earlier, being slightly repetitive, massive role model,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Badani noted that Sunday\u2019s performance was not the first time Starc repeatedly pushed games in DC\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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. \u201cIdeally, 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\u2019ve invested in him, and we know that he\u2019s 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\u2019s very little that we can do,\u201d Badani said.<\/p>\n
He added that if Cricket Australia does not release a player, the franchise has limited options\u2014pointing to similar circumstances involving Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. \u201cBecause if Cricket Australia does not release him, which was also the case with Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, there\u2019s little a coach or any franchise can do about that. Hopefully we have a solution to it in the future,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n
Badani also gave special attention to seam-bowling all-rounder Madhav Tiwari, who troubled Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Shubham Dubey with slower balls. Tiwari\u2019s inclusion came in Dharamshala, where he impressed with both bat and ball, and DC\u2019s decision to bring in fresh faces paid off with a win.<\/p>\n
Explaining why Tiwari fits the team\u2019s 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. \u201cI 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\u2019t seen much of it yet,\u201d Badani said.<\/p>\n
He added that Tiwari\u2019s ability to move the ball was visible immediately, and that he has shown more than enough shape in the middle and death overs. \u201cBut 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\u2019s shown his prowess. So that\u2019s pretty much the reason why we felt that he could be a part of our squad,\u201d Badani said.<\/p>\n
Badani finished by explaining the broader squad thinking behind the move toward younger players. \u201cWe just felt that we needed fresh minds, fresh legs. A couple of our senior players, unfortunately, haven\u2019t had the run that they would have. We would have ideally liked them to have. Hence we felt that it\u2019s maybe time for us to try and switch to the younger boys and we\u2019ve been blessed with a couple of good wins,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani singled out Mitchell Starc for praise, calling the Australian left-arm quick \u201cone of the best role models in cricket\u201d.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":10656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"IPL News: Hemang Badani Praises Mitchell Starc\u2019s Role Model","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Hemang Badani heaps praise on Mitchell Starc, calling the DC star the ultimate role model for youngsters after his match-winning 4-wicket burst.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n