Harry Brook pulls out of IPL 2025, risking a two-year ban

The governing council would have thought that the trend of overseas picks pulling out of the IPL would finally be curbed come the 18th edition. With the franchises complaining against foreign players for opting out of the league at the last moment, the board came up with a solution ahead of IPL 2025. In the newly minted guidelines for the biggest T20 league, the council sanctioned the regulation of a two-year ban for such acts. Any overseas player who registers for the IPL auction and gets a contract with a franchise, if they pull out from playing, would not be eligible for playing or joining the auction for the next two seasons. A stern step to mitigate the lapse, one would note. However, the strictness has not stopped English player Harry Brook from making the move anyway.

Harry Brook pulls out of IPL 2025 to focus on the "really important period" of England Cricket

Harry Brook announced his decision to pull out of IPL 2025 late on the night when India was crowned with the Champions Trophy title. England cricket is going through a downtrodden phase with a forgettable run in white-ball cricket. Under the captaincy of Jos Buttler, the English team has marked early exits from the 2023 ODI World Cup, the 2024 T20 World Cup, and more recently, the ICC Champions Trophy. Taking the team's performance in major tournaments as a sign, Buttler resigned from the white-ball captain's post. Now that the post is open for a player to take, Harry Brook is frontrunning the race to acquire the leadership spot.

The move might be one of the main elements that triggered Brook into pulling out of IPL 2025. The upcoming season would mark the second consecutive instance of the English batter opting out of playing in the IPL. Signed with SRH last year, Brook missed IPL 2024 citing "personal reasons." Released by the IPL 2024 runners-up in the auction pool for the IPL 2025 mega auction, Brook was bought by Delhi Capitals for 6.25 crores. Moreover, the England vice-captain has not been impressive in his career in the T20 league so far. Sunrisers Hyderabad splurged a whopping 13.25 crores on the batter in IPL 2023. However, Brook's performance in the season was a meagre sum of 190 runs across 11 matches, most of which came through a century he hit in the first half of the tournament.

Nonetheless, despite Brook's move of pulling out of IPL 2024, DC went on to buy the English pick following the guidelines set by the governing council ahead of IPL 2025. All the franchises asked the council for a regulation against players pulling out of the tournament at the last moment. There have been plenty of such cases over the years, with Ben Stokes pulling out after being signed with CSK for 16 crores. Australian prospects like Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc have also opted out after signing with a franchise.

Aiming to put an end to the trend that lands the franchises in a puddle, the council sanctioned a two-year ban for such players. Introduced ahead of IPL 2025, the board clarified that any player who signs for the auction and earns a contract with a franchise, if they pull out of playing the season, would not be allowed to register for the next two auctions. Moreover, the guidelines also highlighted that if an overseas player doesn't register for the mega auction, he won't be allowed to enter the pool for the succeeding mini-auction. Harry Brook, who has pulled out of IPL 2025 in order to focus on his international assignments, is now most likely to be banned for the next couple of years.

The English vice-captain, touted as the successor of Jos Buttler as England's next white-ball captain, in his announcement, apologised to the fans and the Delhi Capitals franchise. However, he specified that he wants to focus on "the busiest period of his career as an English player," thus marking himself absent from IPL 2025. With injury not being the key reason, unlike that of Brydon Carse and Lizaad Williams, a ban would be unavoidable for the English player now.

"I love cricket. Ever since I was a young boy I have dreamt of playing for my country and I am extremely thankful to have the opportunity to play the game I love at this level. With the guidance of people I trust, I have taken the time to seriously consider this decision. It is a really important time for England cricket and I want to fully commit to preparing for the upcoming series," Brook wrote in his statement.

"In order to do this, I need time to recharge after the busiest period in my career to date. I know not everyone will understand, and I don't expect them to, but I have to do what I believe is right, and playing for my country remains my priority and focus. I remain hugely grateful for the opportunities I have been given and the support I receive," he added.