Harry Brook intends to limit his availability on the T20 franchise circuit as he juggles the demands of being an all-format England regular with the white-ball captaincy.
Brook was tasked with reviving England’s ailing ODI and T20 sides after being named the successor to Jos Buttler on Monday, despite uneasiness in some quarters about overburdening the Yorkshireman.
England have 11 Tests between now and the end of the Ashes in early January and Brook may be obliged to feature in 12 ODIs and 15 T20s to prepare for next year’s T20 World Cup, slated to begin in February.
He forfeited a £590,000 deal with Delhi Capitals in the ongoing Indian Premier League to prioritise playing for England, having also decided to pull out last year owing to the death of his grandmother.
Under new tournament rules, Brook seems set to be ineligible for the IPL until 2027 but he admitted he has plenty on his plate and does not regret opting for a breather after a hectic past few months.
“There’s a lot of cricket coming up,” he told ecb.co.uk in his first interview as limited-overs skipper. “Having this period after deciding to pull out of the IPL was the right decision for me.
“It wasn’t an easy decision, obviously, but I’ve got to try and manage my workload. I’ve played a hell of a lot of cricket over the last year and a half and it’s only going to be more going forward.
“I’m not sure how much franchise cricket I’ll be playing in the near future but my priority is definitely playing for England and trying to play as much cricket for England as I can.”
Brook was the clear favourite to step up from his position as Buttler’s deputy after England’s chastening Champions Trophy in February and was told of his promotion last week by managing director of men’s cricket Rob Key and head coach Brendon McCullum.
“It was very, very special for me, my family and all the people that have supported me throughout my career,” he said. “Hopefully I can help this team going forward and win a few titles.”
Brook, who will begin his reign with the first of three ODIs against the West Indies on May 29 at Edgbaston, says he is on the “same page” with McCullum about England’s approach.
“I just want us to play with aggression and be 100 per cent committed to competing in whatever game we have coming up,” Brook said.
“There’s plenty of major tournaments coming up and we’ve got to keep that at the back of the mind but we’ve got to take one game at a time and be aggressive and competitive.”
Asked what would constitute success, Brook added: “I think everybody buying in to what we’re trying to do, everybody playing with a smile on their face, being relaxed, calm and hopefully we can have plenty of results go our way.”
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