IPL 2025 | Faf and Ferreira join Starc and JFM as DC's absentees for season remainder
Delhi Capital's South African recruits Faf du Plessis and Donovan Ferreira have opted to miss the remainder of IPL 2025 as the league prepares for resumption after a brief hiatus on May 17. Previously, Australians Mitchell Starc and Jake Fraser-McGurk had already confirmed their non-return as well.
Delhi Capitals will have to contend with the absence of as many as four overseas players for the last leg of Indian Premier League 2025, making them the team most impacted by the nine-day hiatus put in place by the Board of Control for Cricket of India owing to cross-border tensions between the country and Pakistan. Jake Fraser-McGurk was the first of the quartet to confirm he won't return to the subcontinent to see off the remainder of the season before Mitchell Starc, Faf du Plessis, and Donovan Ferreira added to the list on Friday.
While Donovan Ferreira featured in a solitary game and JFM was dropped midway through the tournament after managing just one double-digit score in seven appearances, Starc and Faf were key components of the DC setup. The Aussie quick is one of only two bowlers to have taken a five-wicket haul in the ongoing edition, his 14 wickets the most for any Delhi bowler so far. Even if Starc had opted to return for the remaining three league games, he would have most likely missed the playoffs if the team qualified considering Australia are slated to take on South Africa in the World Test Championship Final at Lord's, beginning eight days after the IPL final, on June 11
Faf, meanwhile, began the season with scores of 29 and 50 before missing a slew of games with an unspecified injury, and has since his return scored 22, 62, and 3 against RCB, KKR, and SRH respectively. The vice-skipper has been part of a musical chairs at the top of the order that has also involved JFM, Karun Nair, Abhishek Porel, and KL Rahul, with his absence most likely paving the way for the Indian trio to establish themselves in the first three batting slots.
DC are now left with Proteas hard-hitter Tristan Stubbs, Lankan quick Dushmantha Chameera, and Afghan batter Sediqullah Atal as their only international players -- albeit Stubbs is also set to leave for the WTC Final after the league stage. The franchise also attempted to sign Mustafizur Rahman as replacement for JFM under the IPL's temporary replacement rule for the remainder of the season, but Bangladesh Cricket Board are yet to provide the veteran a No Objection Certificate.
Delhi are currently fifth in the table with 13 points from 11 games despite starting the season with four straight wins. The team is set to play Gujarat Titans, Mumbai Indians, and Punjab Kings to cap the league stage -- the latest a replay of their May 8 encounter where the game had to be called off after 10 overs in Dharamsala for security reasons.
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