NEWS
Follow UsAustralia batter Jake Fraser-McGurk is taking the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 by storm, smashing fifties for fun. He already has four half-centuries in the tournament, with the latest one coming against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Delhi on May 7 (Tuesday).
Fraser-McGurk was not bought by Delhi Capitals (DC) at the auction but came in as a replacement for the injured Lungi Ngidi. However, he has already made an impact and there have been questions as to why he was not named in the T20 World Cup squad, but the 22-year-old said that the communication from Cricket Australia (CA) gave him the needed clarity.
Fraser-McGurk is DC's third-highest run-getter in IPL 2024, with 309 runs at a strike rate of 235.87. He reveals a piece of advice that his DC head coach, Ricky Ponting, offered that is coming in handy and could potentially be useful for years to come.
"What he's said to me that's really stuck with me," Fraser-McGurk told the Willow Talk podcast.
"[Ponting said] I hit the ball a lot further when I swing at 80 percent instead of 100 percent. You just have to find the middle and it'll go for six'. I was like, 'OK that's good', because when I swing harder my head moves. I did look at the footage of all the games I've been playing apart from the IPL and he's right, when I swing quite hard, my head is moving as I train on the ball.
"He is just someone who can pick up those little things that you're not going to notice...it absolutely blew my mind."
Further elaborating on his non-selection for the upcoming T20 World Cup, Fraser-McGurk said, "It didn't really bother me a hell of a lot because I wasn't in this position to feel like I've earned that yet. World Cup cricket is a lot different to IPL cricket.
"To be here [in India] now, I don't even really have the words for it. I don't really understand how it's happened so quick... but for it to happen so quickly, it's been nice.
"You've got David Warner, our best opener in three formats, you've got Travis Head, who is lighting it up over here and has lit it up the past 18 months, and Mitch Marsh is the same, and he's also the captain... I can't really see myself batting at five or six because we're pretty set there with Tim David, Cam Green, those sorts of guys. The way I think about it is that's fine, there's hopefully going to be more time for that."
The DC batter has played a huge role in his side remaining in the hunt for a place in the playoffs. They are currently fifth on the IPL 2024 points table with 12 points from as many matches.
