IPL 2025: Why Jake Fraser-McGurk is not returning for Delhi Capitals; Mitchell Starc also uncertain

New Delhi: Delhi Capitals' Jake Fraser-McGurk upon his arrival in the national capital via a special train as authorities evacuate Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals players from Dharamsala, in New Delhi. (PTI Photo/Kamal Singh)

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Australia opener Jake Fraser-McGurk will not be coming for the remainder of IPL 2025 , which will restart on May 17. The Delhi Capitals opener is still 'shaken up' after the Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals fixture in Dharamsala was halted midway due to security reasons . Mustafizur Rahman has already been named as his replacement."I’m honestly not sure. He is still tossing up a decision. I spoke to him this morning, and he is still unsure," Shanon Young, coach of Fraser-McGurk, told TimesofIndia.com.Young, who was in Dharamsala, revealed that despite how well the Delhi Capitals management handled the situation, it was too much to handle for the 23-year-old."He was shaken more than most. Not surprising given he is the youngest of the tourists, and he was quite uneasy the day before the game and then obviously after we were evacuated and then the subsequent trip back to Delhi," Young shared."He wasn’t in a good way, and I am very thankful I was there to help guide him through that. It was hard enough for a 50-year-old well-travelled man, let alone a kid."The Delhi Capitals staff and organisation as a whole were amazing and always had our safety as paramount as soon as all this happened. They really were incredible in a time of uncertainty," he added.Delhi Capitals will play their next match on Sunday against Gujarat Titans at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.Delhi Capitals have signed Bangladesh seamer Mustafizur Rahman as Jake Fraser-McGurk's replacement. Mustafizur Rahman has so far played 57 IPL matches and has 61 wickets against his name. He has played 106 T20Is for Bangladesh, picking up 132 wickets from the same. The left-arm medium pacer will join Delhi Capitals for Rs 6 Crore.It is also understood that left-arm quick Mitchell Starc is all set to pull out from the IPL 2025 as well.Australia's women's cricket team captain and Mitchell Starc's partner, Alyssa Healy, who was also there in Dharamsala, revealed in a podcast how panic gripped the overseas players of both the teams."We weren't sure what was going to unfold in the next three days because all the Northern airports were shut," Healy said on the Willow Talk podcast."Everything you heard was different. So what was actually taking place? No one really knew. Even the governments weren't really sure what was going on because no one could really understand unless you were quite literally living in these villages that were getting attacked."So I think that probably created more of the anxiety. I think there was a lot of talk around why we shouldn't be playing. It's not a great time to be playing, first and foremost, but also we're quite close to what's being fought over."Uncertainty over Punjab Kings playersA couple of days ago, Punjab Kings CEO Satish Menon was convinced that their Australian contingent, including Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis, Xavier Bartlett, and Aaron Hardie, who returned home, would return.However, it is now understood that they, too, are unwilling to come back. Punjab will take on Rajasthan Royals on Sunday at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.It is also reliably learned that head coach Ricky Ponting, who stepped out after boarding the flight once he heard the announcement of a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, is trying to convince the Australian players to return to India.The Punjab Kings contingent reached Jaipur on Wednesday and will resume their training from Thursday.

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