'He wants to prove a point' - Bishop impressed with Starc's 'firepower' on IPL return

Former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop was "very impressed" with the "firepower" Mitchell Starc brought into his first game of IPL 2026. Starc was sidelined with shoulder and elbow issues and joined Delhi Capitals more than a month after the tournament began. He immediately showed his value, picking up 3 for 40 in his four-over spell against Rajasthan Royals, which included wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag and Ravindra Jadeja.

"I had a question in my own mind: what sort of form will he come into this after that protracted break that he had," Bishop said on ESPNcricinfo's TimeOut show. "But he's brought some firepower with him. It was pleasing. The last over went for a few runs, otherwise the figures would have been a lot better."

Starc was smoked for six on the first ball of the match by Jaiswal, but he hit back two balls later, taking out the batter with a high full toss. His speeds were up as he conceded 16 runs in his first two overs. Starc then returned in the death, bowling the 17th over, where he first removed Ravindra Jadeja for 20 and two balls later, a rampaging Parag for 90. The quick went for 14 in his last over, but had a successful outing.

"I am happy with that from DC's point of view. They needed that," Bishop said. "With Lungi [Ngidi] and Starc playing together [in future matches], it will form a nice thing with two overseas batters and two overseas seam bowlers. I am glad to see Mitch come with what he has come."

Rayudu, on the other hand, was impressed not just with Starc's bowling but also his attitude on the field. He pointed to a stop that Starc made at backward point at the start of the 16th over, where he put in a dive to save a few runs.

"More than his bowling, there was a moment in the game that showed me that he is really ready," Rayudu said. "He had a diving stop at point, which shows that his body is good and he is feeling good about himself and he is ready for the challenge.

"And we have also seen him speak in the huddle. He was quite animated the way he was speaking. He is into it and it is good for such a big cricketer to really be in the game. He wants to prove a point."

'Never been fearful of a 15-year old...' - Jamieson after dismissing Sooryavanshi

Kyle Jamieson did what most bowlers have struggled to do this IPL: get Vaibhav Sooryavanshi out early. There was an anticipation of watching Sooryavanshi go against Starc after his first-ball sixes off Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins, but even before he could face Starc, he played on a Jamieson yorker for 4 in the second over.

Jamieson said it was a pre-decided plan. "I don't think I've ever been so fearful of a 15-year-old kid in my life," he told iplt20.com after the match. "But yeah, we obviously did a bit of planning leading into the game and it was just nice that it played off. For most teams looking at Rajasthan's side, it's their top two especially who've got them off to fliers.

"And Starcy got one [wicket of Jaiswal] with the old high full toss and I got one with the yorker, so it was nice to get it away early and sort of like extend the flow a little bit to powerplay."

Jamieson received a demerit point and a warning for breaching the IPL code of conduct, for his "aggressive" celebration after dismissing Sooryavanshi.

Jamieson emphasised how valuable it was to have Starc back in the side. "He [Starc] is world-class, right. So whenever you can have one of those guys in your squad it's a huge benefit," Jamiseon said. "So he came at the right time, we needed to get a bit of a move on on the points table. It's nice to have him in, nice to share the new ball with him, it's pretty surreal."

Starc said after the match said that he was happy to get some miles in the legs and is now focusing on "ticking the boxes" as he gets used to the "speed of T20 cricket."

"Nice to get some cobwebs out, get back to the speed of the game," Starc said after the game. "It was good to get some running in the legs, but nice to be back around the guys, get some training in, and then obviously get the win tonight. Take out that first ball and I might be happy.

"I've been bowling a little bit for a period of weeks, just trying to get the elbow into a position where I can manage what it is. I hadn't bowled to a batter for three months until two nights ago. I haven't played white-ball cricket for a while, so in terms of ticking the boxes with the skills, I felt like I was in a position to do most of what I wanted to do.

"Tonight was a good reminder of a few of the things, pace of the game. But, I think I'll be better for the run in the legs for 20 overs, and then now I get into my portion of the tournament."

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