IND vs ENG: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have announced Dan Lawrence as a replacement for Harry Brook ahead of the start of the five-match Test series against India. Surrey batter Dan Lawrence has been added to the squad to replace Brook and will be joining the squad in the next 24 hours.
Notably, Brook has returned home, citing personal reasons and won’t be taking part in the Test series. He played a crucial role with the bat on the Pakistan tour of 2022-23. Averaging over 90, Brook notched as many as three centuries and was looked at as a vital cog in the team for the upcoming series against India.
However, the English batter won’t be participating in the series, which is a huge setback for the team. The ECB has released a statement regarding Brook’s unavailability while urging the media to respect his privacy during this time.
“Harry Brook is set to return home with immediate effect for personal reasons from the England Men’s Test tour of India. The Brook family respectfully requests privacy during this time.” ECB said in the statement.
“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. The England selectors will confirm a replacement player for the tour in due course,” it added.
It is worth mentioning that Dan Lawrence was part of the England team that toured India for a Test series in 2021-22. He managed to score 149 runs in the series at an average of 24.83. In his Test cricket career, the 26-year-old has 551 runs to his name in 11 Tests at an average of 29.
The five-match Test series between India and England starts on 25th June 2024. The first Test match is scheduled for 25th to 29th January at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
The Indian team are coming into the series on the back of a 3-0 win in the T20I series against Afghanistan. They played their last Test series in South Africa. After losing the first Test match by an innings and 32 runs, India fought back to win the second Test match by 7 wickets in the second Test to level the series 1-1.
India and England’s Squads For IND vs ENG Test series:
England
England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook (withdrawn, replaced by Dan Lawrence), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, and Mark Wood.
India’s squad for the first two Tests:
Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-capt), Avesh Khan
Read More: Different Ways Of Getting Out In Cricket
