Harry Brook is returning home from England’s Test series in India due to personal reasons.
Surrey’s Dan Lawrence has been called up to replace Brook and will join the squad in the next 24 hours ahead of Thursday’s opening Test match.
“Harry Brook is set to return home with immediate effect for personal reasons from the England Men’s Test tour of India,” read an ECB statement.
“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.”
Sky Sports News understands that Brook could still return at some point.
Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain said: “Your first consideration has to be the individual, the duty of care of that individual, and we all must wish Harry and his family well. Cricket is important, and Test cricket is important, but your family and yourself are more important.
“So [for] personal reasons he has headed home. Hopefully everything will be okay. Hopefully he’ll come back to India at some stage, it’s a long tour. But the first things first, they must make sure that Harry Brook is fine.”
The Yorkshire right-hander has played in 12 Tests, scoring four centuries, since his debut against South Africa at the Oval in September 2022.
“His stats for England since coming in on debut at the Oval have been phenomenal,” said Hussain.
“He’s averaged 62 at a strike rate of 92, he epitomises how McCullum and Stokes want this side to play. A fabulous player of spin as we saw in Pakistan, so it is a big blow on the eve of such a big Test series.”
Hussain on Lawrence’s call-up
Dan Lawrence in 2021 during the Test between England and New Zealand at Edgbaston
The spare batter during last summer’s Ashes, Lawrence’s last Test match appearances came in March 2022 during the West Indies tour.
Hussain says the 26-year-old is a logical replacement for Brook, even though alternatively selectors could have chosen a player already in India from the England Lions squad.
“He was the spare batter last summer in the Ashes so he was the next cab off the rank,” said Hussain of Lawrence. “He has played in India, he played on that last tour. He played three Test matches and got 150 I think on that tour.
“He has been playing franchise cricket, he has been out in Big Bash playing that and he had just arrived in Dubai to play in the ILT20.
“The other way of going would have been the lads who are already out there in the Lions. So Josh Bohannon in the middle order, the Lancashire player who has played really well on the tour, and I’m a big fan of Keaton Jennings, both as a batter but also as a catch around the bat when the spinners are on. He’s one of the best short-legs in the game at the moment. He’s in fabulous form. He’s an opening batter.
“A like-for-like replacement would have been Bohannon or Lawrence and I think they like Dan Lawrence and like the way he offers them some spin as well. It is a blow for the lads that are on the Lions, they must feel like they’re there for a reason and they want to be part of the main squad, but Dan Lawrence is a seriously good cricketer.”
The five-Test India series starts on Thursday in Hyderabad as England chase a first win since 2012.
The dates for England Test series in India
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Nasser Hussain discusses pitch choice in England’s upcoming Test series against India and what to expect as the two different playing styles meet
First Test – January 25-29 (Hyderabad)
Second Test – February 2-6 (Vizag)
Third Test – February 15-19 (Rajkot)
Fourth Test – February 23-27 (Ranchi)
Fifth Test – March 7-11 (Dharamshala)
Updated England Test squad for India series
Ben Stokes (captain), Ollie Pope (vice-captain), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Shoaib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood, Dan Lawrence
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
