3 reasons why Harry Brook's absence is a major blow to DC for IPL 2024
Young English batter Harry Brook has had to pull out of Delhi Capitals' IPL 2024 campaign to be with his family in a time of grief after the passing of his grandmother, who was crucial to his cricket journey. He had kept the reason private until speculations became rife on social media.
Capitals have thus lost a player with not only 544 T20I runs (at a strike rate of 144.68) but also over 3000 runs in the shortest format at an overall strike-rate of 150.09. If those numbers in themselves don't tell a story, we have listed below three reasons why it's a substantial blow to the franchise's hopes of making a comeback in IPL 2024.
#1 He was solving a big issue for Delhi Capitals
The Capitals quite simply seemed to have signed Brook for one thing - ift their middle and lower-order batting. In IPL 2023, Delhi Capitals' 22.76 was the worst batting average for any team in the middle-overs.
Ocassionaly they got good starts from David Warner, in other games they found some finishing touches down the order. But without Rishabh Pant, the team seemed to lack any kind of backbone.
Brook, thanks to his flexibility, would have fit the team like a glove. With Warner at the top, perhaps Mitchell Marsh at number three, having Pant and Brook in the middle was the recipe of one of the best batting orders in the IPL.
#2 Was a proper steal
Thanks to the mini-auction dynamics, Brook costed Capitals just ₹4 crore in IPL 2024 auction. That is less than 1/3rd of what he costed SunRisers Hyderabad in 2023. Even though he didn't fire after scoring a big century against Kolkata Knight Riders, he improved immensely in terms of consistency after the IPL.
At ₹4 crore, the 24-year-old was not just an asset for the present but also for the future. For example, he would have been the perfect replacement for Warner if the Aussie was to retire from T20s next season.
Now, even if the Capitals replace him, Brook would go to the auction next year which is now reportedly set to be a mega auction where prices are generally where, if he puts up another string of good performances in international cricket, he would go for a lot more than ₹4 crore.
#3 No great options available in the unsold lot
Finally, even if the Capitals are happy with replacing Brook and not signing him again sometime in the future, they hardly have enough options in the pool of unsold players who can come in. At least, none of them have the above-mentioned qualities that the Capitals are losing due to Brook's absence.
The likes of Rassie van der Dusen, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis, Colin Munro, Sam Billings and Kusal Mendis have either not been in good form of late, or don't look worth spending ₹4 crore because of their age and style of play.
This is not to say that they don't have internal solution. Tristan Stubbs is in their squad and is coming off some delightful performance in First-Class cricket. However, he, too, remains mostly untested in Indian conditions. If he steps up,he could define a good few games for the Capitals this year.