Jake Fraser-McGurk has been in exceptional form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Despite his outstanding performance for the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the cash-rich league, Fraser-McGurk was omitted from Australia’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad.
His exclusion from the team came as a shock to many cricket fans, leading to widespread discussion and speculation on social media, prompting the Australian cricketer to finally share his perspective on being overlooked for the prestigious tournament.
Jake Fraser-McGurk’s reacts after not being included in the Australian squad
In a recent episode of the Willow Talk podcast, emerging talent Fraser-McGurk expressed his acceptance of not being selected for Australia’s squad. He said he didn’t feel entitled to a spot in the final 15-member lineup and had no grievances regarding his exclusion. Additionally, he mentioned that his interactions with the selectors had been constructive, and he had no issue after being snubbed.
“The communication was really good,” (with the selectors). There’s two ways you can look at it. You can look at it through, ‘this is what I’ve done to prove my case,’ and then there’s also, ‘look, a month and a half ago I wasn’t even in the picture,” Fraser-McGurk said in the podcast.
The 22-year-old cricketer admitted that being included in the team is very tough, which boasts skilled players like David Warner and Travis Head. He also mentioned that he can’t even expect to be selected for coming to bat at number five or six as Tim David and Cameron Green would be better for playing that role.
“It’s also hard to fit in. You’ve got David Warner, our best opener ever in three formats. You’ve got Travis Head, who is lighting it up over here and has lit it up over the past 18 months,” Fraser-McGurk stated.
“I can’t really see myself batting five or six because we’re pretty set there with Tim David, Cam Green and those sorts of blokes. That’s the way I think about it. That’s fine. There’s hopefully going to be more time for that,” he added.
Fraser-McGurk hopes for a reserve spot in the squad
Talking further about the squad, the young cricketer expressed his desire to be named as a travelling reserve for the upcoming ICC tournament as it will provide him with great experience of T20 cricket.
“If I do somehow get a travelling reserve [spot] then great, I can get a good experience there. It didn’t really bother me a hell of a lot because I wasn’t in this position to sort of feel like I’ve earned that yet. World Cup cricket is a lot different to IPL and franchise cricket,” Fraser-McGurk remarked.
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DC batter praises the team environment and coach Ricky Ponting
Fraser-McGurk expressed his delight at being part of the DC setup and shared that coach Ricky Ponting has offered him valuable batting tips that have significantly boosted his performance. He recounted a specific instance where Ponting’s advice on hitting sixes more effectively proved beneficial during DC games in IPL.
“What he said to me that’s really stuck with me is ‘you hit the ball a lot further when you swing at 80% instead of 100%, you just have to find the middle and then it’ll go for six. And I was like, okay, well, that’s good, because when I swing harder my head moves. And I did look at the footage throughout all the recent games I’ve been playing apart from the IPL, and he’s right, when I do swing quite hard my head’s moving as I’m trying to hit the ball,” Fraser-McGurk concluded.
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