Pakistan govt's carelessness puts PSL's Australian players' lives in jeopardy, fly chartered flight from air base hit by missile

The Australian players returned flew back home after Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2025 was suspended indefinitely on May 10. There was chaos in Pakistan considering the escalation their army initiated on the India-Pakistan border. The Pakistan government's mistake would have turned fatal for Australian players, had it not been for Indian Air Force's restraint.

As per Sydney Morning Herald, the chartered flight to send Australian and other overseas players back to their homes via Dubai, flew from Nur Khan, Rawalpindi. This was one of three Pakistani airbases attacked by India via missile on May 9. The flight carrying international players left the facility three hours before the missile attack. This is one of the airbases close to the India-Pakistan border which was supposed to be shut down, considering the military conflict.

“Pakistan refrained from shutting down its civil airspace despite carrying out an unprovoked and unsuccessful drone and missile attack on Indian cities,” said Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of the IAF on May 9. “This shows a clear and dangerous tactic of using civilian airliners as shields, fully aware that India’s air defence forces would respond robustly.”

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Australia's former opener David Warner who is captain of Karachi Kings was not on the flight. The list of players included Sean Abbott and Ben Dwarshuis who returned home safely on May 10 morning. There were several international cricketers on the flight including New Zealand's Kane Williamson, Michael Bracewell, England's James Vince and others.

“Sean and Ben are relieved to be in Dubai now,” Peter Lovitt, who manages Abbott and Dwarshuis, told the Australian daily. “They are resting at a hotel as they prepare to fly back to Sydney.

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“It has obviously been a challenging last 24 hours or so for all the players both physically and mentally. The next steps are to get them home safely as soon as possible. The organisers of the PSL have done their best to get the players out of Pakistan quickly in trying circumstances in a situation that is much bigger than the game of cricket itself.”

Meanwhile, the PCB's request to host the remainder of the PSL 2025 in the UAE has been denied.