IPL 2025: Harry Brook opts out of tournament for second consecutive year

Harry Brook might be banned from future IPL tournaments for two years after he withdrew from his contract with the Delhi Capitals for the second consecutive season.

According to ESPNcricinfo, the Delhi Capitals purchased Brook for INR 6.25 crore (£590,000) at the IPL mega-auction last November after ECB authorities informed the BCCI of his decision to withdraw last week.

Although Brook stated on social media* that he needed "time to recharge after the busiest period in my career to date," the IPL has not yet released an official statement on the matter.  Following their Champions Trophy group-stage loss, he is regarded as the front-runner to succeed Jos Buttler as England's white-ball captain. As an all-formats player with 18 months left on his ECB central contract, workload management may play a role in the withdrawal.  A request for comment has been made to the ECB.

Harry Brook@Harry_Brook_88

11:30 PM · Mar 09, 2025

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He might be banned from the IPL for two years as a result of the ruling.  All ten teams voiced their displeasure with a history of late pullouts by foreign players, which prompted the implementation of the new rule before the 2025 auction.

 "Any [overseas] player who registers for [an] auction and, after getting picked at the auction, makes himself unavailable before the start of the season will get banned from participating in the IPL/IPL auction for two seasons," IPL said, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo. 

The only exception, the governing council said, will be for "an injury/medical condition, which will have to be confirmed by the [player's] home board".