Australian players escape from Pakistan hours before the missile strikes

Four Australian players who were a part of Pakistan Super League 10 reportedly left the country just hours before missile strikes hit Islamabad. As a part of Operation Sindoor and in response to Pakistan’s escalation, several military and terrorist harbouring areas were targeted by India. PSL 10 was initially relocated to UAE but was eventually suspended indefinitely.

Australians have close shave in Pakistan

As per The Sydney Morning Herald, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Ashton Turner, and Mitch Owen were evacuated to Dubai by a charter flight just hours before the strike. The players took off from the Nur Khan airbase, the same location which was targeted by India on Saturday morning. The report also states that players were forced to leave their luggage and kit bags behind.

“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,”  Peter Lovitt, the manager of Abbott and Dwarshuis said.

Bangladesh legspinner Rishad Hossain described a harrowing few days in Pakistan before the abrupt suspension of the PSL.

“Sam Billings, Daryl Mitchell, Kushal Perera, David Wiese, Tom Curran… all of them were so frightened. Mitchell told me he would never return to Pakistan in such a scenario,” Rishad recounted.

It remains to be seen when PSL 10 will resume as India and Pakistan have reached a ceasefire agreement. It is highly unlikely that the foreign players will return to Pakistan, mostly because of security and logistical challenges.