File photo of Harry Brook© BCCI
The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises were left fuming over several foreign cricketers opting out of the competition citing personal reasons. The latest cricketer to pull out of the tournament was England batter Harry Brook who was bought for Rs 4 crore by Delhi Capitals ahead of the new season. He was not the first player to pull out of IPL due to personal reasons as Alex Hales, Jason Roy and Mitchell Starc have done the same in the past. According to a report by Cricbuzz, IPL franchises were not happy with the development and they want Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to address the issue.
“Once players register for the auction, they should honour their commitment. Reneging on it is unprofessional, and the BCCI should address this,” voiced a franchise official.
Delhi Capitals will now look for a replacement and the report states that franchise feel that such sudden decisions taken by cricketers can upset the auction strategies in place for the different teams.
Brook on Wednesday said he has pulled out of the upcoming Indian Premier League because he wants to be around his grieving family after the death of his grandmother.
Brook’s grandmother died in February. “I can confirm that I have made the very difficult decision not to play in the upcoming IPL,” Brook said in a statement.
“I was so excited to be picked by Delhi Capitals and was so looking forward to joining up with everyone. Whilst I don’t think I should need to share my personal reasons behind this decision, I know there will be many asking why. So I do want to share this.
“I lost my grandmother last month – she was a rock to me and I spent a huge amount of my childhood in her home; my attitude to life and love for cricket was shaped by her and my late grandfather,” the 25-year-old wrote.
In his inaugural IPL season last year, Brook set the stage on fire with a 55-ball hundred against Kolkata Knight Riders only to end on an underwhelming note. In all, he managed only 190 runs for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 11 matches after the franchise paid Rs 13.25 crore to acquire his services.
(With PTI inputs)
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