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The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 was suspended for a week after the game between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Delhi Capitals (DC) in Dharamsala had to be cancelled midway due to air raids in neigbouring cities due to escalation of military conflinct between India and Pakistan. Australia women's team captain Alyssa Healy who is DC left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc's revealed what happened after the blackout.
“All of a sudden a couple of the light towers went out… The guy who wrangles the group of us came up and his face was white. He was like, ‘We need to go right now,’” she recalled on The Willow Talk podcast.
Healy said that the players of both teams, families and the staff were in a holding room as the organisers got the transport ready to take them back to the hotel. She also recalled Starc telling her the reason why there was a hurry to evacuate the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala.
“We weren’t told anything. We had no idea. Next minute we are down being shuffled into this room which was like a holding pen. All the boys were in there. We had no idea,“ the wicketkeeper-batter said.
“Faf [du Plessis] didn’t even have shoes on. We were all just waiting there looking stressed. I said to Mitch, ‘What’s going on?’ He said the town 60 kilometres away had just been smacked by some of the missiles so there was a complete blackout in the area. That’s why the lights were off because the Dharamsala stadium was like a beacon at that point in time. All of a sudden we’re crammed into vans and off we go back to the hotel. There was madness”
A special train was arranged by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to get the players to Delhi. Healy said that she and Starc noticed surface-to-air missile sites on their way back to the capital.
“We ended up going south-west towards the border which was a little bit terrifying. Mitch and I have played too much Call of Duty and we’re noticing all the SAM [surface-to-air missile] sites that were just sitting there ready to go. They’re radar-operated systems that shoot missiles at aircraft,” she added.
Cricket Australia on players' return to IPL 2025
All Australian players are back home and the Cricket Australia (CA) on May 13 released a statement on their participation as revised schedule for the remainder of the IPL 2025 was announced. The Australian cricket board has said that it is for the players to decide whether they want to return to play for the remainder of the IPL, including World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final-bound players.
Starc unlikely to return
Meanwhile, an Australian media outlet said that Starc's manager has said that he may not return for the IPL 2025. DC's next match is against Gujarat Titans (GT) on May 18. It will be a big loss for Axar Patel's DC if Starc does not return for the crucial league stage games.
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