In the Indian Premier League (IPL) Auction deal conducted last year in 2024, Harry Brook signed with the Delhi Capitals (DC) for the IPL 2025 season for more than Rs 6 crore. An England regular and all-rounder player, he has now withdrawn from the IPL tournament two years in a row and is now at the risk of facing a two year ban, imposing the new rule from this year’s season.
A part of the ICC Champion’s Trophy squad for England, Brooks and the team returned home with a single win to its name. He mentioned, “It is a really important time for England cricket and I want to fully commit to preparing for the upcoming series”. Moreover, Team England has struggled to perform in their prior series against India, they lost seven out of the eight white-ball series in their India Tour in early 2025.
Brooks also apologised “unreservedly” to the Delhi Capitals and their supporters in his withdrawal comment. He also acknowledged by saying, “I know now everyone will not understand and I don’t expect them to…playing for my country remains my priority and focus.” For the player’s personal record, Brooks too has struggled to make 188 runs across 11 innings till now this year and 47 runs across the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. However, he is also set to replace Jos Buttler as the white-ball captain of the England Cricket Team as Jos quit after losing all matches in the Group stage.
The new rule for the IPL 2025 season clearly read that, “Any player who registers in the player auction and after getting picked at the auction, makes himself unavailable before the start of the season, will get banned from participating in the tournament and player auction for two Seasons.”