by Harry Brook has pulled out of England’s tour of India, dealing a major blow to the side just days before the five-Test series begins in Hyderabad on Thursday.
It was announced on Sunday morning that the Yorkshire batsman is to leave the tour for personal reasons and although the official statement said he will not be returning, England have not privately ruled out him returning for an extended tour at some point.
They have called up Surrey’s Dan Lawrence, the spare batsman throughout last summer’s Ashes series, to replace Brook. Lawrence is playing in the ILT20 in Dubai and will fly to India to join the squad after Sunday’s game.
Brook would bat with five, and after his explosive first year in Test cricket his aggressive batting was set to be a key part of England’s approach against India, who have lost just three Tests at home since 2012 in respect.
The England team are preparing for the tour at a training camp in the UAE and are due to arrive in India on Sunday, but Brook will be flying home.
“Harry Brook is set to return home with immediate effect for personal reasons from England’s Men’s Test tour of India. He will not be returning to India,” the ECB statement said.
“Brook’s family respectfully asks for privacy during this time. In light of this, the ECB and the family ask the media and the public to respect their wish for privacy and not to intrude on their private space.”
Brook’s absence opens the door for Ollie Pope to return to the side without having to choose between their captains Ben Foakes and Jonny Bairstow. Foakes is now certain to keep a wicket in the first Test, with Bairstow moving up to No. 5.
That means England will have to work out the composition of their bowling attack when they face Hyderabad this week. They are likely to pick two of their four seamers and two of their four spinners, plus Joe Root. The uncapped pair of Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir are thought to have made a strong impression on the turning surfaces during the Abu Dhabi camp and are pushing for a start. England can opt to pick just one clover if they believe the pitches will turn bare.
In just 12 Trials. Brook has scored 1,181 runs at an average of 62 and a strike rate of over 90 in four centuries. He was averaging 93 on slow pitches in Pakistan a year ago when he burst onto the international scene with three centuries in five innings. He made a crucial 75 in the Headingley Ashes as England fought back from 2-0 down against Australia and 85 as they leveled the series at the Oval.
England have opted to call up Lawrence ahead of the players for the Lions’ tour of India now. Keaton Jennings and Alex Lees will be on hand if openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett are injured, while Josh Bohannon provides middle-order cover beyond Lawrence. Jennings and Bohannon, both Lancashire players, scored hundreds in a high-scoring innings against India A in the first unofficial Test in Ahmedabad this week.
The absence of the sticks leaves England weaker – but it also eliminates a major headache
Harry Brook and his family naturally thought of the trust of English brains as he returned to Yorkshire to attend to a serious personal matter. Although he will likely return to this tour at some point, he will be given as much time as he needs.
When the initial shock of a rapidly developing situation subsided, the second thought, however, was surely that Brook was saved from being absent in Hyderabad this week for very difficult reasons by a conversation over his have difficulty with one of their partners.
Dan Lawrence was called, but it was definitely only as a cover. Since Brook’s breakthrough with four hundred Tests last winter, England have had eight quality players fit into their top seven. First Jonny Bairstow missed out due to injury, then Ben Foakes was dropped sharply for the Ashes.
For this trip to India, there were several other complicating factors.
First, the subcontinent, where keepers can stand up to a few mistakes with spin, the excellent glovework makes Foakes even more important. Secondly, Ben Stokes has been sidelined since November with a knee problem and will not bowl, leaving Joe Root as England’s fifth bowler. Thirdly, neither the vice-captain nor the No. 3 Ollie Pope since suffering the third serious shoulder injury of his career in July. The Pope was in the same position in India three years ago, and he was struggling.
England have selected all eight players in the squad, but have refused to be drawn on how they plan to push them into the top seven. A case could be made for any one of Pope, Brook (the only one not to have played a Test in India before), Foakes, or current keeper Bairstow to be left out. It could also be that Stokes was not fit to play.
They kept their cards close to their chests and, with no prying eyes at their warm-up camp in Abu Dhabi and no form guide to follow, it was unclear what they were up to. The players were even in the dark this week, with both Foakes and Bairstow preparing as if they were keeping wicket.
“There’s a decision to be made and it hasn’t been made yet,” Rob Key, the managing director and head of selectors, said when asked in December about the battle for the gloves between Foakes and Bairstow. Key continues: “A lot can happen between now and then”.
The correct key was created. There was no need to pin their colors to a tree earlier than necessary.
Brook is a huge loss. There is hardly a Test side in the world that would not want the 24-year-old, who averages 62 in Test cricket and was at the heart of their Ashes uprising last summer, at No 5 .A quick footwork and ability to pick distance. make him a great spin player, and embodies the Bazball approach to batting.
But without him, England are able to play their best wicketkeeper, Foakes, and Bairstow, at No 5, in a very experienced middle order.
Although Foakes is a fine batsman, especially against spin, England’s strongest side is the one they picked in the Ashes. Foakes needed in India, however. Bairstow sparked the baseball revolution from No. 5 in 2022 before Brook took advantage of his bad luck after suffering a horrific broken leg. This time, it is Brook’s misfortune that allows England to pick both Bairstow and Foakes.
By the time Brook returns, the picture over the form and fitness of the top seven will be clearer, and he will be pushing immediately for a place in the side.
Its unfortunate absence means that one select headache is alleviated. The next job is to read the Hyderabad pitch properly and balance their attack accordingly.
