Harry Brook ready to sign a multi-year contract with ECB, wants to only play for England and in IPL
England batter Harry Brook has shown a willingness to play all three formats for his country. The 24-year-old revealed that he is ready to sign a multi-year contract with the England Cricket Board (ECB), likely to be introduced amid the rise of global T20 leagues.
The decision comes amid unconfirmed reporters that England white-ball captain Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer are being offered full-time contracts from IPL teams to play in ILT20, SAT20, and MLC.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Brook said:
"I'm not bothered about all the franchise stuff. I want to play cricket for England. If I'm in all three formats for England, I don't really feel like there's too much time to be playing any other franchise stuff.”
The statement came after Harry Brook took part in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Big Bash League (BBL), and the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for a hefty price of Rs 13.25 crore.
Brook, however, mentioned that he will continue to play in IPL since top players from all countries, including England, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand, participate in the two-month-long tournament.
“The IPL is the only one that is really free when you're available for everything. Franchise cricket is a bonus, but I'm completely focused on playing cricket for England," he said.
Harry Brook, who has been labeled a generational talent by many, has, so far, represented England in 11 Tests, three ODIs, and 20 T20Is.
That's the end of Harry Brook's maiden IPL season.
His scores 👇
13
3
13
100*
9
18
7
0
0
27*
0
Runs 190 || Avg 21.11 || SR 123.38 twitter.com/i/web/status/1… pic.twitter.com/cbfi50ed2h
“We’re fully concentrated” – Harry Brook on England’s chances of making it 2-2 in the Ashes
Harry Brook further added that his side is fully concentrated on winning the upcoming fifth Test to level the five-match series 2-2 to protect an unbeaten home record in Ashes since 2001. Brook said:
"It would have been class coming to here 2-2 [if the rain hadn’t played spoilsport], but we can't think too much about that. We have to move on and there's a Test match to win here. We're fully concentrated on that now.”
"We haven't lost yet!" 😤
Harry Brook looks ahead to the fifth Ashes test at The Oval... pic.twitter.com/fwDwaYk2xj
In the Ashes, Harry Brook has scored 271 runs in four Tests at an average of 38.71, including three half-centuries. The right-handed batter became the fastest to score 1,000 runs in Tests, in terms of balls faced (1058), in the ongoing series.
The fifth and final Ashes Test will be played at Kennington Oval in London from Thursday, July 27-31, 2023.