Harry Brook has been banned from the IPL for two years after he pulled out of the competition at the last minute to focus on international cricket.
The 26-year-old England batsman, considered a front-runner to replace Jos Buttler as England’s white-ball captain, was signed to the Delhi Capitals for the IPL season beginning next week.
Brook also withdrew from his contract with the Delhi side last season after the death of his grandmother.
The ECB has been informed about Brooks’s ban, an unnamed official from the BCCI told the Indian Express newspaper.
The ban was part of a policy “informed to each player before they registered their name for IPL auction last year”, the official said.
The rules are designed to prevent late pullouts from the money-spinning T20 league by overseas players.
Exceptions can be made, mostly for injuries.
Brook this week apologised on social media “unreservedly to the Delhi Capitals and their supporters” for pulling out of the league “to recharge” and focus on international cricket.
Brook has played one season in the IPL, for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2023, when he scored a 55-ball century against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
The 2025 IPL begins on 22 March when defending champions Kolkata host the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Eden Gardens.
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: Gareth Copley/Getty Images
