Harry Brook confirms pull out from IPL 2024, shares news of grandmother's demise

England batter Harry Brook confirmed that he will not be participating in the upcoming IPL 2024 on Wednesday, March 13. The 25-year-old was bought by the Delhi Capitals (DC) for INR 4 Crore in the mini auction held in December 2023 in Dubai. Sharing the news with his fans through his social media account, Brook revealed that he was excited to be picked up by DC in the auction and was really looking forward to the upcoming season.

However, the Yorkshire-born cricketer disclosed that his family is grieving the loss of his grandmother, Pauline, who passed away in February. Brook further stated that she was his pillar of strength and her demise has left his entire family mentally unwell. Hence, the cricketer has decided to stay with his family in these testing times. Earlier, Brook also pulled out of the recently concluded five-match Test series against India due to personal reasons.

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“I can confirm that I have made the very difficult decision not to play in the upcoming IPL. 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 need to share my personal reasons behind this decision, I know there will be many asking why. So I do want to share this,” wrote Brook in his Instagram post.

“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, Now that she has passed my family and I are grieving and I need to be around them,” he added.

“Over the last few years I have learned to prioritise my mental wellbeing and that of my family's, honestly nothing is more important to me than my family. So whilst this may come as surprising to some, I know it's the right decision for me. I'm young and hope to have many, many more years of cricket to come which I intend to make the absolute most of,” he further wrote.

Harry Brook had a disastrous IPL season in 2023

Notably, Brook was bought for a whopping INR 13.25 Crore by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the mini-auction ahead of IPL 2023. However, the young batting sensation failed to justify his price in his debut season accumulating just 190 runs from 11 innings at an average of 21.11 and an economy of 123.37. 

His only memorable outing of the season came against Kolkata Knight Riders during match 19 as he notched up a brilliant 100* off 55 balls with the help of 12 fours and three sixes. Courtesy of his scintillating show, Brook was adjudged Player of the Match. Meanwhile, his absence in the upcoming season will be a cause of worry for Delhi Capitals who will be looking for an ideal replacement for the swashbuckling batter.