Harry Brook is heading home from England’s training camp ahead of the Test tour of India for personal reasons. Surrey’s Dan Lawrence has been called up as a replacement and is expected to join up with the squad in the next 24 hours.
Brook will leave the squad in the United Arab Emirates – where they have been preparing for the start of the first Test on Thursday – with immediate effect, the England and Wales Cricket Board has confirmed. The 24-year-old could rejoin the tour at a later date.
“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,” the ECB said.
Lawrence is playing in the UAE at the International League T20 and had a strong white-ball summer last year. In the Hundred, he was the second highest runscorer for London Spirit with 151 runs at a strike rate of 164.13. In the T20 Blast he finished as Essex’s third-highest run-scorer, with 386 runs at a strike rate of 153.2 as his former side went to the final, where they lost to Somerset.
Lawrence has not featured in a Test for England since March 2022 against West Indies. The 26-year-old scored 91 at Bridgetown in the second Test but otherwise struggled for runs.
Another option for England in the first Test in India is to play both Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes, rather than having to choose between the two wicketkeepers.
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Potential options from the England Lions squad had been the captain, Josh Bohannon, who scored a century against India A last week, while other middle-order players including James Rew and Dan Mousley have also been overlooked.
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