England’s England's hard-hitter Harry Brook is set to return to competitive cricket after three and a half months of absence. Brook pulled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 to spend time with his grieving family after his grandmother’s death.
In Brook’s absence, Delhi Capitals (DC) were left without a replacement days before IPL 2024. On April 5, he is likely to play for Yorkshire against Leicestershire in the County Championship Division Two 2024.
"Now that Brooky isn't going to the IPL, I suspect he's going to be available for us for the first few games, including [against] Leicestershire," Yorkshire head coach Otis Gibson was quoted as saying as per Yorkshire’s official website.
Brook was roped in by DC for Rs 4 crore in the IPL mini-auction. In the previous edition, he was picked for Rs 13.25 crore by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) but failed to justify the price tag barring a century against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens.
DC are yet to announce Brook’s replacement for IPL 2024. They faced a feat in their opening game which marked skipper Rishabh Pant’s comeback to competitive cricket after more than 14 months of surviving a horrific car accident.
Earlier this year, Brook flew back home from Hyderabad before the first Test of the five-Test series against India. He pulled out of the five-Test series and Dan Lawrence was named his replacement.
Brook’s statement on skipping IPL 2024
"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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