Alyssa Healy's first-hand experience after PBKS vs DC called off in Dharamshala; ‘Faf didn't have shoes…we had no idea’

Mitchell Starc's wife Alyssa Healy described the fateful night of May 8 in Dharamshala as 'surreal experience' after the Indian Premier League (IPL) clash between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association stadium was called off midway.

Healy, who herself is the captain of the Australian women's national cricket team, has been travelling across India with Starc. She also plays for UP Warriorz in the Women's Premier League (WPL).

Batting first, Punjab Kings were 122/1 after 10.1 overs when the one of the floodlights went off. Soon after two more were switched off too. At first, it looked like a floodlight malfunction, but in reality it was due to the air sirens because of the India-Pakistan border tension.

Immediately, a blackout was ordered in Dharamshala as the whole stadium was evacuated. The players of both teams and the match officials along with the broadcast crew were also told to return to their hotels soon after.

Healy, who was in the stands along with family members of other Delhi Capitals players, narrated how things unfolded on that night. “It was a surreal experience,” Healy continued on the The Willow Talk Podcast.

"All of a sudden a couple of the light towers went out and we were just sitting there up the top waiting… we’re a large group of family and extra support staff and the next minute the guy who wrangles the group of us and gets us on the bus came up and his face was white."

The wicketkeeper batter also mentioned that Delhi Capitals' South African import Faf du Plessis didn't had his shoes on when all these things happened. It was Starc who informed her about the drone sightings and air-raid warning nearby.

"He was like, ‘we need to go right now’. Then another guy came out and his face was white and he grabbed one of the children and said, ‘we need to leave right now’. We were like, ‘what’s going on?’ We weren’t told anything. We had no idea. Next minute we are being shuffled into this room which was like a holding pen. All the boys were in there.

"Faf du Plessis didn’t even have shoes on. We were all just waiting there, looking stressed. I said to Mitch, ‘what’s going on?’ He said the town 60km away had just been smacked by some of the missiles so there was a complete blackout in the area.

"That’s why the lights were off because the Dharamsala stadium was like a beacon at that point in time. All of a sudden we’re crammed into vans and off we go back to the hotel. There was madness," she added.

IPL 2025 resumes on May 17

The day after, IPL 2025 was suspended for a week before BCCI announced that the T20 league will resume on May 17 with the final to be played on June 3. The Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals clash, which couldn't be finished that day will be played once again on May 24 in Jaipur according to the revised IPL 2025 schedule.    

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