International cricketers escape Pakistan on charter flight from Rawalpindi: Report

International cricketers were evacuated from Pakistan in charter flight on Friday evening after the PSL 2025 was suspended due to India-Pakistan conflict. read more

International cricketers, including those from Australia, England and New Zealand, have successfully managed to leave Pakistan after the suspension of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2025, as tension rises between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack. A Sydney Morning Herald report says that Australian and international cricketers escaped Pakistan on a charter flight from the Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi.

As per the news report in SMH, the majority of Australian players, including those who are in India for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, will be back home by Sunday. The remainder of PSL 2025 was suspended on Friday hours after IPL organisers took the same step amid the growing tension between India and Pakistan.

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Overseas cricketers escape Pakistan on charter flight

The Australian and other foreign players from PSL were evacuated to Dubai on Friday evening through a charter flight, which was reportedly arranged by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The Australian players will be taking connecting flights to Australia on Saturday from Dubai.

Some of the Australian players who escaped Pakistan on the charter flight were Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Ashton Turner and Mitch Owen. David Warner, who was playing for Karachi Kings, is already back home. He did not take the charter flight.

“Sean and Ben are relieved to be in Dubai now,” Abbott and Dwarshuis’ manager Peter Lovitt told SMH. “They are resting at a hotel as they prepare to fly back to Sydney.

“It has obviously been a challenging last 24 hours or so for all the players both physically and mentally. The next steps are to get them home safely as soon as possible. The organisers of the PSL have done their best to get the players out of Pakistan quickly in trying circumstances in a situation that is much bigger than the game of cricket itself.”

The players’ luggage, however, is still in Pakistan.

An image from inside the charter flight which carried international cricketers to Dubai from Dubai. Image: X

Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi attacked

The Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi, Murid air base in Chakwal and Rafiqui air base in eastern Punjab province’s Jhang district became targets of retaliation attacks early on Saturday morning after Pakistan attacked 26 locations across the LoC.

Despite Pakistan engaging in missile and drone attacks over Indian cities across Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Punjab, the Indian armed forces did not retaliate on Friday. However, Pakistan launched fresh attacks on Saturday instead of de-escalating.

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