Citing personal reasons, Harry Brook has resigned from the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Delhi Capitals paid INR 4 crore to acquire the England batter, but he has made the decision to withdraw from the competition, which starts on March 22.
Not only has Brook been missing from the IPL, but he has also been missing from the England team recently. Brook withdrew from the Test squad at the last minute, with the England team management and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) requesting privacy for the player and his family. Brook had originally been scheduled to play in the Test series in India.
“During this time, the Brook family kindly begs privacy. Given this, the ECB and the family respectfully ask that the public and media respect their right to privacy and abstain from invading their personal space, according to a January announcement from the ECB.
But shortly after it was made public that he had decided not to participate in the competition, the 25-year-old took to social media to explain that his grandmother’s untimely death was the cause of his absence from both the forthcoming IPL season and England’s most recent Test tour of India.
Franchisees expressed dissatisfaction
Despite the Brook incident, there is a growing trend of dissatisfaction among IPL franchisees due to English players pulling out of obligations for personal reasons. They argue that these sudden and unforeseen withdrawals interfere with their auction strategy. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is a potential source of communication for IPL franchisees regarding this matter.
“Players should honour their pledge to participate in the auction after registering. A franchise official stated, “The BCCI should address this as reneging on it is unprofessional.” Such withdrawals are not unprecedented; athletes such as Mitchell Starc, Jason Roy, and Alex Hales have all pulled out with similar excuses in the past. Officials from the Delhi Capitals were contacted but did not respond. It appears that they are searching for a substitute.
The Bazball style of play used by Ben Stokes and Brandon McCullum to manage the England team has been greatly influenced by Brook. Still, he didn’t exactly shine in the IPL last year. In the 2023 season, SunRisers Hyderabad paid a whopping INR 13.25 crore to acquire him, although he only scored 190 runs at a pitiful average of 21. As a result, the team let him go prior to the auction, at which Delhi Capitals paid Rs 4 crore to get him.
