Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals IPL 2026: DC will look to ring in some changes to bounce back from a humiliating loss in the last game as they get ready to face Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s RR at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Friday.
Published: May 1, 2026 12:35 PM IST
RR vs DC IPL 2026: Delhi Capitals will receive a massive boost ahead of their IPL 2026 match against Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Friday. The injury-hit side will be bolstered by the availability of Australian legend Mitchell Starc for the first time in this season as he is set to replace injured Lungi Ngidi against RR.
Starc, who was retained for Rs 11.75 crore, ahead of the IPL 2026 season has not featured in a single match this year due to shoulder and elbow injuries. The Aussies left-arm pacer got an NOC to play from Cricket Australia from May 1 in IPL.
“He is available from tomorrow. Our best bowler will definitely play, but the final decision will be taken tomorrow. Him coming back, it definitely helps. Fast bowlers who may have struggled in the powerplay will get more support,” DC bowling coach Munaf Patel said in the pre-match press conference in Jaipur on Thursday.
Starc will be expected to come into the side to replace pacer Lungi Ngidi. The South African pacer suffered a concussion in DC’s match against Punjab Kings last Saturday and according to ICC rules and regulations, he is unavailable for selection for one week. Ngidi, though, was seen training with the DC team in Jaipur on Thursday and should be available for next match for DC.
The visitors will also be concerned about KL Rahul’s opening partner as Pathum Nissanka has been dropped to accommodate the extra pace bowler in Dushmantha Chameera in Ngidi’s absence. Youngster Sahil Parakh was handed a debut in the last game vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru but was dismissed for a duck by Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Filed under: Problems for bowlers ❤️ pic.twitter.com/QHaOEUxxXe
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) May 1, 2026
It will be interesting to see if Prithvi Shaw will get his first opportunity to play this year at the expense of Parakh. RR could enter the match with the same playing 11 which defeated Punjab Kings which will mean leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi will once again miss out.
Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals IPL 2026 match no 43 Predicted 12
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Donovan Ferreira, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja
Delhi Capitals: KL Rahul (wk), Sahil Parakh/Prithvi Shaw, Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Vipraj Nigam, Axar Patel (c), Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Dushmantha Chameera, T Natarajan
