England batter Harry Brook has made the “difficult decision” to withdraw from this year’s Indian Premier League following the death of his grandmother.
The Yorkshireman, 25, was set to play for Delhi Capitals after being bought for £380,000 in December.
Brook missed England’s recent 4-1 Test series defeat in India after his grandmother first became ill.
“Now that she has passed my family and I are grieving and I need to be around them,” he said in a social media post.
“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 my 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.”
The 2024 IPL starts on 22 March, with the final taking place on 25 or 26 May.
Brook was released by previous side Sunrisers Hyderabad, who paid £1.35m for him, after a largely disappointing debut IPL season.
He was part of the England Test squad for the tour of India but flew home from a training camp in the United Arab Emirates in January shortly before the first Test, citing personal reasons, and did not return.
“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 added in his social media post on Wednesday.
“It makes me so happy that she was able to see me play cricket for England. I’m proud that she could collect some of the awards I have won over the last couple of years when I couldn’t be there and I know she enjoyed doing that.”
Brook has not played competitive cricket since the fifth T20 in the West Indies in December, but he could return for Yorkshire when their County Championship campaign starts against Leicestershire at Headingley on 5 April.
He has hit four centuries in 12 Tests and was part of the 2022 Men’s T20 World Cup-winning squad, becoming a key part of England’s team in all three formats.
England are next in action with a four-match T20 series against Pakistan at home, starting on 22 May, before Jos Buttler’s side begin their T20 World Cup defence in the Caribbean on 4 June.
England’s next Test is against West Indies, starting at Lord’s on 10 July.
Brook hit a stunning unbeaten century in only his fourth IPL game last season but otherwise struggled, scoring 190 runs in 11 matches overall at an average of 21.11 as Sunrisers finished bottom.
