Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Football
Netball
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
đ» How to tune into Sport Nation
'15 minutes from being bombed': Aussies chaotic Pakistan escape
SENÂ âą Â May 12th, 2025 2:33 pm
Up to 10 Australians affiliated with the Pakistan Super League escaped an airbase 15 minutes before it was bombed, according to Robert Craddock.
Amid rising political tensions on the Pakistan-India border, both the IPL and PSL have been suspended and a host of international players have fled the countries because of ongoing security threats.
While the BCCI remains confident the IPL will resume later this week be it in India or the UAE, it remains unclear how many Australians will be willing to return to either country.
Many are already back on home soil while others have fled to neighbouring countries as uncertainty remains.
âA lot of the Australians that have left donât have a huge appetite to go back,â Craddock said on SEN Whateley.
âAbout 10 Australians in the Pakistan Super League - which is now cancelled - got a plane out of a military base in Pakistan to Dubai and 15 minutes after their plane left the tarmac, that military base was hit by missiles. Not destroyed but fires everywhere. It would have been a disaster.
âWhen they landed Riley Meredith saw it on his phone and realised the base was bombed while they were in the air. The air strip was bombed. It was a chilling moment.
âThe players were stunned by it. Max Bryant, heâs in Dubai, he said you canât escape it.â
Despite a ceasefire being announced, reports of explosions near the Kashmir region have been circulating prompting many to question if restarting the IPL and PSL is appropriate.
It may also put players in the unfortunate position of having to return in order to not breach their contracts.
âWhat weâre seeing is a cold-blooded game of political one-upmanship,â Craddock continued.
âPSL said letâs move to UAE, India heard that and said to UAE âget them out of there, do not let them playâ.
âIndia is so determined to restart the competition so they can say âweâre in a war here and weâre winningâ.
âTheres been a ceasefire and thereâs a meeting today about the IPL. But a lot of international players wonât go back.
âItâs very much a man-by-man choice. Can it cost them? Yes it can.
âTalk all you want about ceasefires (but) the BCCI and government are in lockstep. The Indian government basically runs cricket now. Whatever they want to happen will happen.
âThey will want it as a morale lifter. They want it to lift the nation. Australian players are pawns in this political argument. But if you sign up for these big leagues thatâs what you get.â
There are 16 fixtures remaining in the IPL season which was scheduled to finish on May 25.
