Harry Brook has left England's training camp in the United Arab Emirates ahead of the Test tour of India for personal reasons, the England and Wales Cricket Board has confirmed. Surrey's Dan Lawrence has been called up as a replacement and is expected to join the squad within the next 24 hours.
The ECB issued a statement requesting privacy for Brook and his family, saying: “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.” Brook, 24, could rejoin the tour at a later date.
Lawrence, 26, is currently playing in the International League T20 in the UAE. He enjoyed a strong white-ball summer last year, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer for London Spirit in the Hundred with 151 runs at a strike rate of 164.13, and as Essex's third-highest run-scorer in the T20 Blast with 386 runs at a strike rate of 153.2.
Lawrence has not played a Test since March 2022 against West Indies, where he scored 91 in Bridgetown but struggled for runs otherwise. Another option for England in the first Test, starting on Thursday, is to play both Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes. Potential alternatives from the England Lions squad, including captain Josh Bohannon, James Rew and Dan Mousley, were overlooked.
