England’s Harry Brook left Delhi Capitals (DC) in a predicament a few days before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 by pulling out due to personal reasons. Brook cited personal reasons for pulling out of the season as he needed to spend time with his family after his grandmother’s death. However, England’s hard-hitting batter returned to the field in Yorkshire’s opening match of the County Championship Division Two 2024 and smashed a 69-ball century.
Brook goes ‘Bazball’ against Leicestershire
Brook walked in to bat at no.4 after George Hill departed after scoring 13 runs. He got off the mark with a boundary off the second ball. He went after Scott Currie and hit him for a four and two consecutive sixes. He attacked Tom Scriven and scored three consecutive fours. The youngster reached his half-century from just 35 balls.
The partnership with opener Adam Lyth continued. Lyth got to his century from 98 balls and departed in the 34th over. Lyth's wicket did not stop Brook as he continued to hit the ball in all parts of the ground. He reached his 12th first-class century from 69 balls. His knock featured 14 fours and two sixes.
While Brook made a successful comeback to cricket after four months, DC are struggling. The Rishabh Pant-led side is at the bottom of the points table with just one win from five games. In Brook’s absence, Tristan Stubbs has adopted his role and excelled at it.
Brook’s replacement in DC squad
On April 8, DC also announced Brook’s replacement for the remainder of the season. South Africa's fast bowler Lizaad Williams was roped in for his base price of Rs 50 lakh. The replacement was announced after Mitchell Marsh was sidelined due to an injury. DC’s bowling has struggled of late as Kuldeep Yadav has missed a few matches. With Anrich Nortje going for plenty, Williams is expected to bolster DC’s bowling lineup.
Why Brook pulled out of IPL 2024?
Earlier this year, Brook pulled out of the five-Test series against India and flew back home from Hyderabad. He was picked for Rs 4 crore by DC in the mini-auction. After pulling out of IPL 2024, he made a statement as well.
"I can confirm that I have made the very difficult decision not to play in the upcoming IPL," Brook said in a statement. "I was so excited to be picked by Delhi Capitals and was so looking forward to joining up with everyone. Whilst I don't think I should need to share my personal reasons behind this decision, I know there will be many asking why. So I do want to share this.
"I lost my grandmother last month - she was a rock to me and I spent a huge amount of my childhood in her home; my attitude to life and love for cricket was shaped by her and my late grandfather. When at home, there would hardly be a day go by that didn't include seeing her. It makes me so happy that she was able to see me play cricket for England. I'm proud that she could collect some of the awards I have won over the last couple of years when I couldn't be there and I know she enjoyed doing that.”
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