England have suffered a colossal blow as Harry Brook has pulled out of the Test series against India. Apparently Harry Brook will fly back to UK with immediate effect citing personal reasons, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on January 21.
Meanwhile, Dan Lawrence has been announced as Harry Brook's replacement.
An initial announcement from the ECB suggested that the Yorkshire batter had pulled out of the entire series. However, it is now believed that he might come back to India at a later date.
"The Brook family respectfully requests privacy during this time. In light of this, the ECB and the family kindly request the media and the public to respect their wish for privacy and refrain from intruding on their private space," the ECB said.
Harry Brook participated in England's training session in the UAE, where the team prepared for sub-continent conditions. Ben Stokes-led England team has already reached Hyderabad on January 21 for the first Test. Notably, the first Test between India and England will be played from January 25.
Brook's withdrawal is a major setback for England's ambition to be the first team to clinch a Test series in India in over a decade. Since his debut in the last Test of the 2022 summer, he has maintained an impressive average of 62.15 with a strike rate of 91.76 across 12 matches, including four centuries.
He temporarily moved up to No. 3 in the Ashes lineup following Ollie Pope's season-ending shoulder injury, before Moeen Ali stepped in as an interim solution. With Pope now fit for the India series, England faces the task of reconfiguring their middle order.
In Brook's absence, England might consider using Jonny Bairstow primarily as a batsman, possibly filling the No. 5 position, while Ben Foakes could take over wicketkeeping duties.
England squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Shoaib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood.
India's squad first two Tests vs England: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan
England vs India's schedule for five-match Test series in 2024
1st Test: January 25-29, 2024 (Hyderabad)
2nd Test: February 2-6, 2024 (Vizag)
3rd Test: February 15-19, 2024 (Rajkot)
4th Test: February 23-27, 2024 (Ranchi)
5th Test: March 7-11, 2024 (Dharamsala)
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