By Karan Agrawal 
Delhi Capitals have been dealt with a major blow before the start of IPL 2025 as England’s ODI vice-captain Harry Brook announced that he won’t be a part of this year’s IPL. Brook who was picked by Delhi Capital at the mega auction last year for an amount of 6.25 crore, will be missing his second successive IPL season, having opted out of IPL 2024 before the start of the tournament. “It is a really important time for England cricket, and I want to fully commit to preparing for the upcoming series. In order to do this, I need time to recharge after the busiest period in my career to date. “I know not everyone will understand, and I don’t expect them to, but I have to do what I believe is right, and playing for my country remains my priority and focus,” Brook said while announcing his decision.
The Decision
Harry Brook now faces the danger of getting banned from the IPL for two seasons as per the new rule introduced by the BCCI before the IPL mega-auction in November last year. According to the rule, “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 2 Seasons.” However, the new rule exempts a player from such treatment if he misses the tournament due to an injury or medical reason.
The Performance
Picked in three IPL seasons so far, Brook has played only one season of the 10-team tournament, having featured in the 2023 edition for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, where the batter ended up scoring 190 runs in 11 innings. The 18th edition of the league is set to begin from March 22, with defending champions KKR taking on RCB at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.