Delhi Capitals' head coach Hemang Badani has showered high praise on Australian speedster Mitchell Starc as he bowled a player-of-the-match spell in their five-wicket victory against the Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday, May 17.

Badani spoke of Starc's presence in the dressing room as a 'role model' for the young players, due to his immaculate preparation and work ethic. He spoke of how the 36-year-old is always in conversation with the younger players in the squad, focusing on meticulous and minute details which would help them improve their knowledge and skills. 

"His work ethic, his preparation before the game with his own plans and his training are above par. I don't even see that with a lot of the younger boys, that's the reason why he has sustained for so long. 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," Badani said at the press conference after the game.

"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 or do I look to try and be submissive and be defensive. There's immense conversation that Starcy brings to the table," he added.

Starc joined the Capitals squad late due to an elbow injury, which saw him play his first IPL game of 2026 on May 1, also against the Royals. He has picked up nine wickets in five matches, including figures of 3 for 40 in his first game.

Against them on this occasion, Starc was unable to get going in the powerplay, but picked up four wickets in the death, including three in an over. He finished the game with figures of 4 for 40, earning the Player of the Match award. He was getting the ball to reverse swing in the death overs, which proved vital in him picking up the wickets.

He is coming off the back of a fantastic campaign in the 2025-26 Ashes, where he blew England apart, picking up 31 wickets and finishing as the Player of the Series. Starc, along with fellow Australian seamers Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, joined the IPL late, with Cricket Australia managing their workload ahead of a gruelling international calendar. Badani spoke of his position in the matter, wanting further action to be taken in similar situations. 

"I would want my players to be available to me from day one and Starc is probably one of the 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 certain things are decided by associations and governing bodies, there's very little that we can do," Badani said.

"If Cricket Australia does not release him, which was also the case with Hazlewood [Royal Challengers Bengaluru] and Pat Cummins [Sunrisers Hyderabad], as a coach or franchise, we can't do much about that. Hopefully we have a solution to it in the future," he added.

The five-wicket victory against the Royals ensures the Capitals have the slimmest of hopes to qualify for the playoffs, if other results go in their favour. They play their final game of the season against the Kolkata Knight Riders, which is a must-win game for both sides.