IPL 2026 – DC vs CSK – Fit-again Ngidi and ‘captain of the fast bowlers’ Mitchell Starc to fire in tandem for DC

Delhi Capitals (DC) have used 20 players in IPL 2026. Not the most, that record belongs to Mumbai Indians (MI), who have used 24, but among the highest. DC have also used seven of their eight overseas players, again, only behind MI’s eight.

But now, finally, when “we don’t have any other option but to win,” as their bowling coach Munaf Patel put it ahead of the game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Tuesday, they might finally be able to put something like their best XI on the park, with Mitchell Starc and Lungi Ngidi headlining the fast-bowling attack.

Starc joined DC late, in the last week of April, with a plan to get on the field on May 1 against Rajasthan Royals (RR), which he did, and picked up three wickets straightaway. Ngidi, who was going so well for DC – seven wickets in seven games with an economy rate of 8.70 – has been out since April 25 after suffering a head injury while fielding against Punjab Kings (PBKS).

“Lungi and all bowlers are 100% fit,” Munaf said. “He did not play the last two games because of the six-day protocol [for head injuries], but he is fully fit now. A wicket in the first six overs makes a big difference. That is why bowling in partnerships becomes very important.

“Our initial plan was to use Indian bowlers like Auqib [Nabi] and Mukesh [Kumar]. That allowed us to strengthen the batting with overseas players. But when a plan does not work, you have to move to plan B.”

With Starc coming in and getting among the wickets without any settling-in time – “he is like the captain of the fast bowlers,” Munaf said – DC hope to get their combination right, with Sahil Parakh the only player out with an injury.

“Obviously, we play every match to win, but now the relaxed mode is over. If you want to qualify, you have to win all the matches,” Munaf said about DC’s position on the points table: seventh, with four wins in nine games. “It is always difficult to fit the best combination into the XI because there are only four overseas slots. Sahil was injured, so we wanted to give Pathum [Nissanka, in the previous match] an opportunity and also have an additional bowling option. That is why we went with that combination.

“At that time, Lungi was not available, so the plan was to go with either Pathum or [David] Miller depending on the balance we needed. Pathum came in as a replacement, and we will continue with that approach because he performed well. I don’t think there is a need for further changes.”

The game against CSK is in Delhi, DC’s home ground, but much as Munaf would like a pitch that would bring his spin twins Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel into play, it might not happen.

“We have world-class spinners in the form of Kuldeep and Axar. There is no question of them not playing. If the wickets are slow, it actually benefits us because we have quality spinners,” Munaf said. “But I don’t think the wickets will be as slow as people expect. With the time available between matches, pitches don’t slow down that much unless there is weather interference. They might slow down slightly, but not significantly.”

And getting on a bit of a roll would be useful for DC. They have won four, but not more than two in a row at any stage. And now it’s getting to that stage where no quarters can be given.

“Confidence always comes from winning. You cannot build confidence by losing matches,” Munaf said. “We have already moved on from the previous result [against CSK, when they lost by 23 runs]. If we keep thinking about it, it will affect us again. It is better to forget it and move forward with the right mindset.”

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