Jake Fraser-McGurk set to travel with Australian team as reserve for Warner in ICC T20 World Cup USA & West Indies

Young batting sensation Jake Fraser-McGurk is all set to travel with the Australian squad as a reserve batsman for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.  

Jake Fraser-McGurk wasn't initially picked in the 15-member squad for the World Cup by the George Bailey-led selection committee. He shot to fame and got noticed by a huge mass of people, thanks to his performances for the Delhi Capitals in the latter half of IPL 2024. Fraser-McGurk might even get retained by the DC franchise for IPL 2025. 

Having arrived as a late replacement player originally for a bowler, Jake Fraser-McGurk quickly became a household name in the IPL circuit. The big hitter was roped in by none other than Delhi's Australian head coach Ricky Ponting as a replacement for ruled-out South African speedster Lungi Ngidi. 

Why has Cricket Australia decided to include Jake Fraser-McGurk as backup player? 

On Sunday morning, reports came from our Cricket Australia sources that the board has decided to have Jake Fraser-McGurk as a traveling reserve. This news comes days after the Delhi Capitals got knocked out of IPL 2024 after finishing 6th in the points table. 

With Jake Fraser-McGurk expected to land in Australia this week, he will be joining some of his seniors to practice for the T20 World Cup 2024. The main reason why the 22-year-old has been called up out of nowhere is due to the fitness and form concern of the opening batsman and his DC senior David Warner. 

Jake had replaced Warner in Delhi playing XI and if Warner got injured, the right-hand batter would walk in. Another big reason for his inclusion is the hamstring injury of Australia captain Mitchell Marsh. The All-rounder was also a part of the Delhi Capitals team but he had to leave IPL 2024 mid-way due to the hamstring blow he sustained during training. 

Marsh is currently recovering very well from the hamstring injury with the Aussie skipper expected to begin training from this week. But the presence of Jake Fraser-McGurk will make the team management feel they are safe as he is more than capable of providing an impact from the word go. As it was seen in the IPL. 

In the 2024 season, Fraser-McGurk scored 330 runs from 9 matches, facing 141 balls and smashing the ball at a strike rate of 234.04. His boundary count from the nine matches was 60 which included 32 fours and 28 sixes. He is also the joint-fastest fifty scorer in IPL 2024 as he took just 15 balls to score a half-century against Mumbai Indians and the Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

He had also scored a 19-ball half-century against Rajasthan Royals and had a best of 84 off 27 against MI. 

What had Fraser-McGurk say about his exclusion from Australia's T20 WC squad 

Jake Fraser-McGurk wasn't grieving about his exclusion from the 15-man squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. He understood that the team is currently set at all batting positions and affirmed that he will get plenty of chances at World Cups in future. "The way I think about it is that’s fine, there’s hopefully going to be more time for that." - Jake said via Willow Talk podcast.