'We're noticing all surface-to-missile sites that were just sitting there ready to go.'
The floodlights suddenly failed. And in the shadow of escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, the IPL's calm was shattered.
Now, as IPL 2025 prepares to resume, Alyssa Healy -- the Australian women's cricket team captain and Delhi Capitals pacer Mitchell Starc's wife -- has revealed what happened on the surreal night of May 7 in Dharamsala when cricket came face to face with conflict.
Given Dharamsala's proximity to the international border, the authorities swiftly arranged a special train to evacuate the players to New Delhi. After reaching New Delhi, the Indian players dispersed to their respective hometowns, while overseas cricketers flew back to their countries.
Speaking on The Willow Talk podcast, Healy recounted the tension and confusion that gripped the stadium.
'It was a surreal experience,' Healy recalled.
'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 mood rapidly shifted from confusion to alarm. On reaching the dressing room, Healy found players visibly shaken. Her husband broke the news that a town near Dharamsala had been hit by a missile.
'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 60 km 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.'
'We ended up going southwest towards the border, which was a little bit terrifying. Mitch and I have played too much Call of Duty and we're noticing all surface-to-missile sites that were just sitting there ready to go. They're radar-operated systems that shoot missiles at aircraft. We saw a few of them on the way through in some small towns,' she said.
Adding to the tension, an unexpected burst of fireworks sparked panic among the group.
'Some peanut down in the village decides it's a great idea to set off some fireworks in the middle of the day. I think everyone at lunch froze, turned around and was like, 'Oh my God!' And then I could pinpoint, I could see the fireworks going up.
'I hope it was a wedding and I hope they have a beautiful marriage but that was just not good timing.
'There was anxiety and terrified at the same time, but I still feel like we would have been OK. We weren't right in the firing line.'
© 2025