Ahead of the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season, the Delhi Capitals (DC) announced on Friday the recruitment of Australian all-rounder Jake Fraser-McGurk as a substitute for South African bowler Lungisani Ngidi, who has been sidelined due to injury, as confirmed by an IPL statement. Fraser-McGurk secured a spot with a base price of Rs 50 lakhs. DC aims to bounce back from their disappointing ninth-place finish last season, where they managed only 10 points from five wins and nine losses, with a negative run rate of 0.808.
In a significant update on Tuesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) revealed that Rishabh Pant has recovered from his injury and is ready to participate in IPL 2024. Pant’s return will undoubtedly bolster DC’s lineup, as he has been a key player since joining the franchise in 2016, accumulating 2,838 runs in 98 matches at an average of 34.61 and a strike rate exceeding 147, including one century and 15 fifties. The 17th IPL season kicks off on March 22, featuring a clash between defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at MA Chidambaram Stadium.
The IPL committee said: “Delhi Capitals (DC) named all-rounder Jake Fraser-McGurk as a replacement for Lungisani Ngidi for the upcoming edition of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Ngidi, who has played 14 IPL matches and has 25 wickets against his name, was ruled out of the TATA IPL 2024 due to injury. Jake Fraser-McGurk has played 2 ODIs for Australia. He joins DC for his reserve price of INR 50 Lac.”
Delhi Capitals will host their home matches in Vizag on March 31 and April 3 against CSK and Kolkata Knight Riders, respectively, due to unavailability of the Arun Jaitley Stadium, which will be occupied by the Women’s Premier League final on March 17. DC’s other fixtures until April 7 include an encounter with the Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on March 28 and a match against the Mumbai Indians in Mumbai on April 7.
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