Rising cricket star Jake Fraser-McGurk has taken his omission from Australia‘s T20 World Cup squad in stride, expressing understanding and optimism about his future opportunities. The 22-year-old, who has been in sensational form in the IPL 2024, believes he was not in a position to feel like he had earned a place in the final 15-member squad.
Fraser-McGurk, who has not played a T20I for Australia and only recently made his ODI debut, has made a significant impact in the IPL with two 15-ball half-centuries, including an impressive 84 off 27 balls against the Mumbai Indians. Despite his stellar performances, he acknowledges the tough competition within the Australian squad.
“The communication was really good,” Fraser-McGurk said. “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 highlighted the challenge of fitting into a squad with established players like David Warner, Travis Head, and captain Mitchell Marsh. He believes his batting position of five or six is well-covered by players like Tim David and Cameron Green.
“If I do somehow get a travelling reserve [spot] then great, I can get a good experience there,” he said. “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 also credited Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting for his recent success, revealing that Ponting’s advice to swing at 80% instead of 100% has helped him find the middle of the bat more consistently.
“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,'” Fraser-McGurk said. “And I’ve just been training that the whole time and it’s paying off quite well.”
Despite missing out on the T20 World Cup, Fraser-McGurk remains focused on performing well in the IPL and other opportunities that come his way, confident that his time will come on the international stage.
Stay updated with all the cricketing action, follow Cricadium on WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, and Instagram
