Mitchell Starc Won't Be Returning to Play Rest of the IPL Matches

Mitchell Starc, Faf du Plessis, and Donovan Ferreira won’t be returning to India to rejoin Delhi Capitals for the rest of IPL 2025. It’s a big blow for DC, but perhaps not a surprising one—especially in Starc’s case.

Starc’s absence is particularly notable. He’s been DC’s top wicket-taker this season with 14 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 26.14. But with the World Test Championship final against South Africa looming on June 11 at Lord’s, the Aussie quick has decided to stay back and prepare rather than dive back into T20 cricket just a week before the red-ball showdown. His withdrawal likely costs him a hefty chunk of money – possibly up to $750,000 – given that IPL contracts are typically pro-rata based on player availability. 

Real reason behind Starc's absence

Starc had been one of the less enthusiastic names when it came to returning after the tournament was paused due to the geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan. Starc’s wife and Australia captain Alyssa Healy, who also fled home from Dharamshala, described last week as “terrifying”.  

“Quite close to what’s being fought over, but we were assured everything was fine, ‘everything is OK, it’s miles away, the game will go ahead and everything will be fine. There was a lot of anxiety around the Australian group because we didn’t have a whole heap of information as to what was going on,” Healy said on the Willow Talk podcast. “That’s probably been the really interesting and probably the scariest part of this whole situation, the misinformation." 

Although the IPL is set to resume this Sunday following a temporary de-escalation in hostilities, the final has now been pushed to June 3 – only eight days before the WTC final. For Starc, that tight turnaround clearly wasn’t worth the risk. Even if DC don’t make it to the playoffs, Starc is looking at a $450,000 hit. But it seems he’s chosen preparation over paychecks this time. 

DC's other absentees

He’s not the only one. Faf du Plessis has also decided not to come back. The South African veteran had a patchy season before injury sidelined him, making 168 runs in six innings with a couple of fifties. His return was always uncertain, and now it's confirmed he won’t feature again this season. Ferreira, who featured only once (scoring just 1 run as an Impact Player), won’t be returning either. 

All this leaves DC in a tight spot. With Du Plessis and the out-of-form Jake Fraser-McGurk out of the mix, the opening combination is up in the air. It now likely comes down to a shuffle between Karun Nair, KL Rahul, and Abhishek Porel to fill the top-order gaps for the Capitals’ final three group-stage matches.  

Also Read: West Indies Players Will Be Available for the Whole Season