Data Shorts: Bowlers ground high-flying Jake Fraser-McGurk

It has been a totally contrasting journey for Jake Fraser-McGurk in the two IPL seasons that he has been a part of. Coming in as a last minute substitute for Lungi Ngidi, the young Victorian lit up his maiden season last year striking at 234 and scoring 330 runs - the highest strike rate managed by a player in an IPL season to have faced as low as 50 balls in a season. Come a year later, he has managed to survive the Powerplay just once in six innings. There have only been five other instances of a lower aggregate by an opening batter after the first six innings in an IPL edition and only one of them by an overseas batter.

Fewest runs after first six innings among openers in an IPL season

A distinct feature of Fraser-McGurk's batting style is his propensity to hit the balls in the air. 14 of his 15 dismissals in IPL have been caught, with the other being a run out. He hit more than a third of the balls he faced in IPL 2024 (54 out of 141) and scored at a rate of 409.25 off those. He came to IPL 2025 after a wretched run of form, averaging just 15.91 across 24 innings post the last IPL. He has hit only 12 of the 52 balls in the air this season and got out to those six times - once to a spinner and five time to seamers.

Fraser-McGurk hitting the ball in the air in IPL

With his baseball style swing opening up the hips and fetching him aplenty in his inaugural season, the bowlers have adopted better in bowling to him. In fact, in his last game in IPL 2024 against LSG, they placed a long-on right on the boundary in the very first over of the game and asked him to take on the fielder which resulted in a mishit that was caught in the very same area.

This season, the fast bowlers have bowled wider lines to him, getting the ball to move further away from his hitting arch. In Capital's opening game against LSG, Shardul Thakur bowled to Fraser-McGurk with a long-off in place in the first over the chase and swung one away 2.57 degrees to get him caught by the long-off fielder. In the game against CSK, Khaleel Ahmed set him up by bowling five deliveries angled across him and forcing a miscue off the fifth ball, which was the one that moved laterally the most (2.2 degrees). Each of his five dismissals against seam this season have come against balls moving away and him miscuing aerial hits. From bowling 58% of deliveries outside off in 2024, the seamers have cranked it up to 64.3% so far in 2025 that has resulted in four dismissals for Fraser-McGurk and he is scoring at just 66.67 off these lines.

Capitals, in their winning run, have been able to carry him along but time is running out fast for the youngster. With the bowlers posing question marks over his technique, it is now time for him to make a move and take his game to the next level.