David Warner makes bombshell call about playing in Pakistan after his Aussie teammates were 15 minutes away from death in missile attack during conflict with India
Cricket star David Warner has confirmed he is returning to Pakistan – just days after just a number of fellow Australian players narrowly escaped an Indian missile strike as they fled to Dubai.
Warner, 38, is playing for the Karachi Kings, who sit second in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) after eight matches.
It is anticipated the remainder of the T20 tournament will be staged in Lahore and Islamabad from May 17 after both Pakistan and India agreed to a ceasefire.
Other Aussie players taking part in the PSL include the likes of Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Ben Dwarshuis and Sean Abbott.
The stars were fortunate to miss a Indian missile strike on the airbase from which they left to travel to Dubai.
When it comes to Aussie stars taking part in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Pat Cummins is tipped to fly back, with fixtures also due to be played from May 17.
Cricket star David Warner has opted to return to Pakistan – just days after just a number of fellow Australian players narrowly escaped an Indian missile strike (pictured, with wife Candice and their three girls)
Warner is playing for the Karachi Kings, who sit second in the Pakistan Super League after eight matches (pictured, an image confirming the tournament will restart on May 17)
Warner is in the twilight of his cricket career at 38 (he is pictured, at his home in Sydney)
Cummins’ manager Neil Maxwell confirmed the paceman will be back to skipper Sunrisers Hyderabad.
‘Pat has a responsibility as captain of the franchise and is looking at returning,’ he said.
Fellow quick Josh Hazlewood is in doubt due to a shoulder injury, with Travis Head, Josh Inglis and Mitchell Starc the other members of the Test squad playing in the IPL.
Australian women’s captain Alyssa Healy, who was in Dharamsala with her husband Mitchell Starc when the game between Delhi Capitals and Ricky Ponting’s Punjab Kings was abandoned, described the scenes as ‘surreal.’
‘All of a sudden, a couple of the light towers went out and we were just sitting there waiting….then next minute the guy who organises the group of us, his face was white,’ she told the Willow Talk podcast.
‘He was like, ‘We need to go right now. ‘Then [another] guy came out and his face was white, and he grabbed one of the children and said, ‘We need to leave right now.
‘We were like, ‘What’s going on?’ We weren’t told anything. We had no idea.
Sean Abbott has been playing for the Quetta Gladiators in the PSL – whether he returns remains to be seen
Ben Dwarshuis (left) is on the books of Islamabad United in the PSL – what he does next is also up in the air
Australian women’s captain Alyssa Healy (pictured, with husband Mitchell Starc) labelled the recent scenes in India ‘surreal’
‘Next minute, we are down being shuffled into this room which was like a holding pen. ‘We were all just waiting there looking stressed. I said to Mitch, ‘What’s going on?’
‘He said the town 60 kilometres away had just been smacked by some of the missiles, so there was a complete blackout in the area.
‘That’s why the lights were off….because the Dharamsala Stadium was like a beacon at that point in time.
‘All of a sudden, we were crammed into vans and off we went back to the hotel. It was madness.’
