Harry Brook withdraws from IPL 2024 as England players' exodus continues

Delhi Capitals (DC) have faced a massive blow ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. England star batter Harry Brook as per the reports in Cricbuzz has pulled out of the 17th edition of the tournament, set to begin on 22nd March, due to personal reasons.

Harry Brook, who was purchased for INR 4 crore by Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League auction 2024, recently also pulled out of the Test series against India National Cricket Team. Therefore it is expected that he will be missing the IPL 2024 due to the same reasons that kept him out of the recently concluded five-match series against India.

It wasn’t known why Harry Book opted out of the Test series against India but the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) released the statement, requesting everyone to respect the privacy of the batter and his family. The board had stated ahead of the series against India:

“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.”

This, however, hasn’t been the first time when an England player pulled out of the IPL, stating personal reasons. Earlier Jason Roy, who was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders, pulled out of the tournament due to personal reasons and there have been many cases like this in the past.

England players pulling out of the IPL due to personal reasons hasn’t gone well with many franchises. The teams are fuming over it and players pulling out hamper their auction planning. As per the reports in Cricbuzz, the franchises will be soon discussing the issues with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

A franchise official in conversation with Cricbuzz expressed his disappointment and stated: “Once players register for the auction, they should honour their commitment. Reneging on it is unprofessional, and the BCCI should address this.”

Delhi Capitals likely to rope in Jake Fraser-McGurk as replacement for Harry Brook

With Harry Brook pulling out of the IPL 2024, the reports in Cricbuzz have stated that Delhi Capitals are looking for a replacement ahead of the league. Earlier, a few media reports suggested that the franchise has expressed its desire to acquire the services of young Australian batter Jake Fraser-McGurk.

The young batter has been one of the talented youngsters in Australian cricket. He set the stage on fire in the BBL as he slammed 257 runs at a strike rate of around 160 in 9 games. After that, he made his debut for Australia in the ODI series against West Indies.

Jake Fraser-McGurk plays for Delhi based franchise in the ILT20. He also put his name in the auction but couldn’t attract any bidders. He broke into the scene when he broke AB de Villiers’ record of fastest century in List A cricket. It remains to be seen if the franchise ropes him in as a replacement of forrry Brook or not.