Dynamic England batter Harry Brook will miss the forthcoming Test series against India due to personal reasons. The ECB confirmed the development on its social media channels on Sunday (January 21) and revealed that the 24-year-old Harry Brook would return to the UK from Abu Dhabi where the touring squad has been training ahead of the marquee series which starts on the 25th of January 2024 in Hyderabad.
Dan Lawrence has been named as the replacement for Harry Brook. The Surrey Cricketer is set to join the squad in 24 hours. The squad led by Ben Stokes reaches India on Sunday ahead of the opening Test in Hyderabad starting on January 25.
Harry Brook is a fabulous player of spin- Nasser Hussain
Former England captain Nasser Hussain reckons Harry Brook withdrawing from the five-match Test series against India is a big blow, given his expertise in playing spin well, evidenced by the Pakistan tour.
The England Cricket Board (ECB), on Sunday, announced that Brook will be unavailable for the entire series and will return home for personal reasons. The board requested privacy and the need to avoid intrusions. They announced right-hander Dan Lawrence as a replacement.
Hussain observed that Brook has perhaps best adapted to the style Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum want them to play in. Speaking to Sky Sports, Hussain said:
“It is a blow. His stats for England since coming on debut at The Oval have been phenomenal. An average of 62 with a strike of 92 epitomizes how Stokes and McCullum wants this side to play. Fabulous player of spin, as we saw in Pakistan. So, it is a big blow on the eve of a big Test series.”
At the same time, Nasser Hussain also believes that family is most important and hopes for Brook to return at some stage during the long series.
“Yeah, it is,” he continued. “But the first consideration has to be the individual, the duty of the care of the individual and we all must wish Harry and his family well. Cricket is important, Test cricket is important, but your family and yourself is more important. So, he has headed home for personal reasons.
“Hopefully, everything is okay and will come to India at some stage. It’s a long tour, but first thing we must make sure is Harry Brook is fine.”
Harry Brook reigned supreme during his first sub-continent visit when England toured Pakistan in 2022-23. The right-hander emerged as the highest run-getter of the series, mustering 468 runs in five innings at an average of 93.60, including three centuries.
Naseer Hussain opines on replacement Dan Lawrence inclusion
Naseer Hussain suggested that Dan Lawrence’s experience of playing three Tests in India landed him a spot in the side.
“Well, he was the spare batter last summer in the Ashes,” he continued.
“He has played in India, played on the last tour in 3 Test matches, got one fifty on that tour. He has been playing franchise cricket, he’s been out there at the Big Bash and just arrived in Dubai to play in ILT20. The other way of going would have been the lads who are already out there in the Lions. Josh Bohannon in the middle-order, the Lancashire player, has played really well on the tour,”
Hussain also felt Keaton Jennings and Josh Bohannon were equally viable candidates, but felt Lawrence’s off-spin gave him the edge.
“I’m a big fan of Keaton Jennings, both as a batter and catcher around the bat. When a spinner is on, he is one of the best in short leg in the game at the moment. He is in fabulous form and an opening batter. A like-for-like replacement would have been Bohannon or Dan Lawrence,” he added.
“I think they like Dan Lawrence and 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 are there for a reason and want to be part of the main squad. But Dan Lawrence is a seriously good cricketer,”
Both Bohannon and Jennings scored centuries in the first innings of the opening unofficial Test for England Lions against India A. This will be England’s second Test series in the third World Test Championship cycle, having held Australia to a 2-2 draw in the 2023 Ashes.
With having lost their last two Test series in India, being defeated 0-4 in 2016/17 before losing 1-3 in 2020/21, England who remains the only team to beat India in a test series in India in 2012 now feels an uphill task to repeat the feat 12 years later in absence of star batter Harry Brook and it would be interested how the Bazball approach now roles versus the rampant Indians in their own backyard.