Around 6 pm Australia time on Wednesday, Jake Fraser-McGurk’s manager told Delhi Capitals (DC) that the young right-handed opener will not be coming back to India for the franchise’s remaining games in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, restarting on May 17. Subsequently, DC have now roped in Bangladesh’s left-arm fast-bowler Mustafizur Rahman, who on his day can bamboozle batters with his cutters and slower balls.

IANS understands that a majority of overseas cricketers from Australia, especially in DC and Punjab Kings (PBKS) set-ups, had been gripped by fear and tension for their lives after the game was called off in Dharamshala last week.

“Jake was shaken more than most overseas players in Dharamshala at that time. It’s not surprising (his decision to pull out of IPL 2025), given that he is the youngest of the overseas players in the DC setup. Moreover, he was quite uneasy the day before the game happened in Dharamshala, and then obviously after we were evacuated, we made the subsequent trip back to Delhi with others.”

“In all, he wasn’t feeling things in a good way, and I am very thankful I was there to help guide him through all of that. I mean, it was hard enough for a 50-year-old, well-travelled man like me, let alone a young kid. I was there in a support role of a player who is more like a son to me than a cricketer,” Shannon Young, Fraser-McGurk’s childhood coach, who was in Dharamshala at that time, told IANS on Wednesday.

This agency also understands that internally, a few of the overseas players from both teams, especially from Australia, had expressed concerns over playing in Dharamshala on May 8, as cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan intensified, but they were somehow convinced by the tournament authorities to take the field.

But as drone and air strikes from Pakistan led to blackouts in Jammu, Udhampur and Pathankot, all located less than 250 km away from Dharamshala, the match was called off after just 10.1 overs of play, and that led to players going back to their hotels under tight security.

Arrangements were made to evacuate everyone to IPL to New Delhi via buses, taking them to Jalandhar, where a special ‘Vande Bharat’ train brought them to India’s national capital on Friday night.

Melbourne-based Young, who also coaches Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards, offered further explanation on why there’s still great fear and reluctance amongst overseas players and coaches to be back in India so soon for the remainder of IPL 2025.

“The entire Delhi Capitals management and staff showed incredible care and concern for our safety immediately following the developments in Dharamshala. They were truly amazing during those uncertain and concerning times.”

“But I must tell you that open warfare around 80 km away from where we were in Dharamshala is just such a foreign concept to overseas people, including the Australians. I know for some Indians 60-80 kms is a long way away, but in Australia, we travel 60 kms in 45 minutes, so it’s way too close for comfort.”

IANS also understands that Anton Roux, DC’s fielding coach, was also unsure about coming back to India if the league were to begin again. But as per his Instagram account on Wednesday, Roux posted that he was on his way back to India to rejoin DC, who are amongst the seven teams in the race for IPL 2025 playoffs.

IPL sources have also told IANS that left-arm fast-bowler Mitchell Starc is also uncertain to come back for DC’s remaining games, while the status of Faf du Plessis and Tristan Stubbs rejoining the franchise is also 50-50 in nature. In terms of PBKS, who have been given a new home base in Jaipur, there’s no word yet on who amongst their overseas players will be back for IPL 2025.

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