The Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025) was thrown into chaos in May when rising military tensions between India and Pakistan forced the tournament into an abrupt suspension.
The conflict followed a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians and triggered a military operation on terror infrastructures in Pakistan by India. Pakistan responded with missile and drone attacks in Indian cities, and fears of a full-scale escalation led the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to halt the IPL for over a week.
As the security concerns mounted several overseas players were flown back home during the hiatus. While the league resumed on May 17 under tightened protection after the India-Pakistan ceasefire, not everyone returned. Among those who chose not to come back were Australian quick Mitchell Starc and young batting sensation Jake Fraser-McGurk, both part of the Delhi Capitals (DC) squad.
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"Happy to Live With Whatever Comes" - Mitchell Starc Reflects on IPL 2025 Pullout
Speaking for the first time since opting out, Starc shed light on the personal nature of the decision and the thought process behind it. He is at peace with his call to pull out of IPL 2025.
Notably, Starc was part of the game between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Delhi Capitals that was called off midway due to missile and drone attacks near Dharamsala. He was with his wife at that time in India and was evacuated from there after which he left for his home.
"I’m comfortable with my decision and how I felt about the whole situation and how it was handled. That’s why I made my decision post-that, and my focus changed to red-ball cricket for about a week prior to coming over here. Time will tell with repercussions or how it looks with guys that didn’t return. But I’ve had my questions and concerns leading into that game, and obviously, we saw what happened, which played a part in my decision," said Starc as quoted to The Sydney Morning Herald.
"There was a little bit of that to my decision around the Champions Trophy in Pakistan. And then once the tournament was delayed you start to think about guys’ preparation for the Test match," he added.
Starc also alluded to inconsistencies in how teams and players were treated in the fallout of the Dharamsala incident.
"Things were handled differently for different players and different teams, the guys up in Dharamsala, the Punjab guys were part of that, and while both teams had similar experiences up there, all those guys returned for Punjab, and Jake Fraser-McGurk and I chose not to. So it was a very individual decision, and I’m happy to live with whatever comes of that."
Starc played 10 matches for DC and picked up 14 wickets. He is still committed to playing for the Capitals, though it remains to be seen if he gets retained for the next season.
"I’m still heavily committed to the Delhi group, and I’m not someone that’s gone into tournaments and pulled out after being picked up in an auction or whatever that looks like. These are different circumstances."
"It was more a question of not having enough information leading into making a decision about things of that degree. I had a discussion back home, then came to a decision, and whatever comes from that, I’m comfortable with that, and we move forward," Starc concluded.
Mitchell Starc’s Wife Shares Harrowing Account of Dharamsala Match Suspension
The sudden suspension of the IPL was not just about players. Their families and support staff were caught in a tense and uncertain situation as well. Alyssa Healy, wife of Mitchell Starc and also a cricketer, recounted the chaotic evacuation during that night at the Dharamsala stadium when the match between PBKS and DC got suspended.
"It was a surreal experience. All of a sudden a couple of the light towers went out and we were just sitting there up the top waiting… we’re a large group of family and extra support staff and the next minute the guy who wrangles the group of us and gets us on the bus came up and his face was white," Healy said as quoted on The Willow Talk podcast.
She described how the evacuation unfolded abruptly, leaving everyone in dark.
"He was like, ‘we need to go right now’. Then (another) guy came out and his face was white and he grabbed one of the children and said, ‘we need to leave right now’. We were like, ‘what’s going on?’ We weren’t told anything. We had no idea. Next minute we are being shuffled into this room which was like a holding pen. All the boys were in there. Faf (Faf du Plessis) didn’t even have shoes on. We were all just waiting there looking stressed," she added.
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