England batter Harry Brook has withdrawn from the upcoming tour of India due to personal reasons, announced the cricket board on Sunday (Jan 21). Brook’s withdrawal comes as a blow to English side who are aiming to win their first series in India since 2012. England are yet to name a replacement for the batter. While Brook has been ruled out, he could still return on a later date, reported ESPNCricinfo.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“Harry Brook is set to return home with immediate effect for personal reasons from the England Men’s Test tour of India. He will not be returning to India,” read the England Cricket Board (ECB) statement.
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“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,” it added.
Brook has been phenomenal since he made his debut for England, scoring 1,181 runs in 12 matches at an average of 62 along with four hundreds. In his absence, both Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes could make it to the playing XI.
Former England skipper on tackling Indian spinners
Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen has advised the touring English side to be wary of getting LBW or bowled to Indian spinners in the upcoming Test series. The five-Test series starts January 25 in Hyderabad and there are four spinners in the Indian squad. Notably, Pietersen was part of the England squad which had last won a Test series in India back in 2012.
India have named Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel in the squad.
After Hyderabad, the second Test will be played in Visakhapatnam from February 2 before the tour moves to Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamsala for the next three Tests, respectively.
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