Leg Buys cricket column: Renegades and South Australia’s Jake Fraser-McGurk attracting IPL interest, Josh Philippe likely to move away from WA

Fraser-McGurk, who turns 22 next month, went unsigned at the IPL auction in December but is understood to have attracted significant interest from the Capitals to be a replacement player against a backdrop of uncertainty about the involvement of England star Harry Brook, who missed the recent Test tour to India for personal reasons.

The Victorian product, who moved to South Australia for state cricket last year, had a stint with Delhi’s Emirati affiliate team the Dubai Capitals in the ILT20 competition earlier this year.

Should he join Delhi, Fraser-McGurk would join Australian World Cup winners David Warner and Mitch Marsh with the team coached by Aussie great Ricky Ponting.

It would be the continuation of a rapid rise for the right-hander, who only a year ago was offered a rookie deal by the Vics, prompting a move to SA. In October, Fraser-McGurk blasted the fastest List A century in history, before a strong Big Bash League campaign with the Melbourne Renegades.

He was in turn called up to both of Australia’s white-ball squads, whacking 41 from 18 balls against the West Indies in a one-day international win against Canberra.

An IPL opening would also provide Fraser-McGurk with a platform to make a late albeit unlikely run to Australia’s T20 World Cup squad given national selectors have repeatedly stressed the importance of the competition as a lead-up to June’s World Cup being held in the Caribbean and US.

As flagged last week, Matthew Wade will head to the IPL late, set to miss the start of Gujarat’s campaign in order to play the Sheffield Shield final with Tasmania.

Not Joshing

With the Shield having entered its final round of the season, the player movement picture is gradually becoming clearer.

Josh Inglis’ return to Western Australia’s Shield team following the end of his white-ball commitments for Australia means Josh Philippe is increasingly likely to have played his last game for WA.

The fringe Australian white-ball gloveman is seeking greater red-ball opportunity having been made to scrap around the edges in recent years.

NSW and Tasmania have been considered his most likely destinations, with the Blues believed to be the favourites for his services.

Philippe already plays in the Big Bash League with the Sydney Sixers, where he has worked under NSW mentor and veteran domestic coach Greg Shipperd. Quirkily, Philippe’s last game for WA is likely to have come in a domestic one-day final in which he helped WA to victory over NSW in Sydney last month.

A shift for Phillippe could trigger other movements in the domestic wicketkeeping ranks with Baxter Holt (NSW) and Jake Doran (Tasmania) among those with clouded futures.

Count him out

While a host of Australians including Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon, Matt Renshaw and Marnus Labuschagne will be playing county cricket this year, there are no plans on the horizon for Steve Smith to join them.

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Smith will take up a commentary role at the IPL after missing out at the auction last year and is set to play for the Washington Freedom in Major League Cricket.

He played for Sussex ahead of last year’s Ashes series, and county cricket could allow him an opportunity to gain more red-ball experience as an opener. But Australian coach Andrew McDonald quashed any talk of a county stint when speaking following the two-Test series against New Zealand.

Leg Buys is Code Sports’ regular column looking at player and staff movement in cricket, particularly through an Australian prism.