Delhi Capitals sign Aussie wonderkid Jake Fraser-McGurk as Lungi Ngidi's replacement for IPL 2024

Delhi Capitals (DC) have roped in promising Australian all-rounder Jake Fraser-McGurk to their IPL 2024 camp as a replacement for South African pacer Lungi Ngidi, who has been ruled out of the season due to an injury.

Fraser-McGurk, 21, bats right-handed and bowls a bit of leg-spin. He's touted as the next big thing in Australian cricket due to his endearing batting style and the apparent gift of timing and power-hitting abilities.

Last year, he scored 257 runs in eight Big Bash League (BBL) 2023-24 innings at a strike rate of 158.64 for the Melbourne Renegades. This followed a 29-ball century in the Marsh Cup, the domestic ODI competition in Australia, which broke Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers' records for the quickest List-A tons.

"No one in Australia is better to watch then Fraser-Mcgurk. Easily the most talented young batter in the country. His potential doesn’t actually have a ceiling. #rooster 🐓," Glenn Maxwell wrote on X in December last year.

Fraser-McGurk's consistency led to an international call-up against the West Indies. He played two ODIs scoring 10 (5) and 41 (18).

It seems like a smart bit of strategy from the Capitals. One of their star young batters, Harry Brook, was ruled out of IPL 2024 on Thursday, which was a massive blow given his value at ₹4 crore. If they had replaced him with a batter, it would have meant letting him go to the auction in 2025.

Now, they have got a batting replacement for Ngidi, who wasn't going to be a starter anyway.

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Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting is a big fan of Jake Fraser-McGurk

The move could have been propelled by Capitals' coach Ricky Ponting's admiration for the youngster. The former Australia captain has often called for Fraser-McGurk to be "fast-tracked" into the system long before he made his debuts.

"I was on record at the start of the summer saying I think he's someone that can be well and truly fast-tracked through the Australian system. Because the natural talent that he's got reminds me a bit of David Warner's introduction into Australian cricket. When we saw [Warner] at the start, I think everyone doubted whether he was going to be good enough to play Test cricket technically," Ponting was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

Delhi Capitals will start their IPL 2024 campaign against the Punjab Kings on March 23.