Harry Brook has pulled out of England’s tour of India for personal reasons.
The Yorkshire batter has flown back to the UK and will not join the squad in the subcontinent for the duration of the five-match series, which starts this week.
The Brook family have requested privacy, with England confirming that a replacement player will be named in due course.
Brook enjoyed a sensational international breakout during last winter’s tours of Pakistan and New Zealand and has become a key part of England’s middle-order under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
Just 12 Tests into his career, the 24-year-old already has four hundreds and seven fifties to his name, averaging 62, and his absence is a major blow to England’s hopes of inflicting India’s first home series defeat in more than a decade.
An ECB statement said: “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.”
England have been in the UAE for a pre-series training camp and were due to arrive in India on Sunday ahead of the first Test in Hyderabad, which starts on Thursday morning.
While Brook’s absence is a considerable blow, it may ease England’s selection headache, with Ollie Pope fit again after missing the last three Ashes Tests and Ben Foakes also hoping to earn a recall as a specialist keeper.
Surrey’s Dan Lawrence has now replaced Brook, having regularly been named as the spare batter in recent squads.
