Harry Brook withdraws from IPL following death of his grandmother

The England and Yorkshire batter pulled out of England’s recent Test tour in India in January, citing personal reasons, and in a social media post revealed the reason at the time was because his grandmother “was ill and didn’t have long left”.

In a post on Instagram, the 25-year-old confirmed that he would not be joining up with Delhi Capitals, saying: “I can confirm that I have made the very difficult decision not to play in the upcoming IPL.

“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.”

Brook pulled out of England’s five-Test tour to India before the squad flew out from their training camp in the United Arab Emirates.

He added: “I made the decision to leave the India Test tour the night before we flew from Abu Dhabi to India because I was told for the first time that my grandmother was ill and didn’t have long left.

“Now that she has passed my family and I are grieving and I need to be around them.

“Over the last few years I have learned to prioritise my mental wellbeing and that of my family’s, honestly nothing is more important to me than family.

“So whilst this may come as surprising to some, I know it’s the right decision for me. I’m young and hope to have many, many more years of cricket to come which I intend to make the absolute most of.

“I couldn’t be more grateful for the support I have received, especially from the ECB and Delhi Capitals, thank you.”

Brook, who has made four centuries in 12 Test appearances for England, played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL last season.

Delhi Capitals are due to play their first match of the new season against against Punjab Kings on March 23.

Brook’s Yorkshire team-mates have jetted out to Abu Dhabi on Yorkshire’s 10-day pre-season tour.

They will play both T20 and red ball cricket in the UAE, starting with a six-team T20 tournament starting on Friday.

Essex, Nottinghamshire, Somerset and Warwickshire are also competing alongside a Team Abu Dhabi select XI.

Yorkshire coach Ottis Gibson is looking for an improvement on their white ball game this summer, in both the Vitality Blast and the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.

“As we build a squad – this winter in the indoor school, we have put a focus on white ball cricket,” said Gibson.

He added: “You look at the talent we’ve got, I believe that we should be doing far better as a white ballteam.

“That’s one of our real goals this year – to perform better as a white ball team.”