‘Personal reasons’: Harry Brook to play no part in England’s tour of India

Harry Brook is heading home from England’s training camp ahead of the Test tour of India for personal reasons and the batter will not be returning. Surrey’s Dan Lawrence has been called-up as a replacement and is expected to arrive within the next 48 hours.

Brook will leave the squad, currently in Dubai preparing for the start of the first Test on Thursday, with immediate effect, the England and Wales Cricket Board have 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,” said an ECB statement.

Lawrence is currently playing in UAE at the International League T20 and has excellent in the short-form of the game recently. In The Hundred, Dan was second-highest run-scorer for London Spirit with 151 runs at a strike-rate of 164.13. And in the T20 Blast he finished as Essex’s second-highest run-scorer, with 386 runs at an outstanding strike rate of 153.1 as his side went all the way to the final, where they lost to Somerset.

Lawrence has not featured in a Test for England since March 2022 against the 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 at wicketkeeper.

Potential options from the England Lions squad had been 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.