SA20: ECB withdraw Harry Brook from inaugural edition to manage workload

The England and Wales Cricket Board on Wednesday, December 28, withdrew young English sensation Harry Brook from the inaugural edition of the SA20 League. The decision was conveyed to Joburg Super Kings and the organising committee Cricket South Africa.

Brook, who played some phenomenal cricket in 2022, recently smashed three centuries against Pakistan in the longest format of the game. Looking at his sheer brilliance and impactful knocks, Sunrisers Hyderabad spent INR 13.25 crore to sign the cricketer for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League. Thus, with a lot of cricket already scheduled to happen, his national cricket board decided against his participation at the SA20 to manage his workload. 

“Since he plays all three formats, the ECB thinks it is too risky to permit him to play the SA20. We have received the communication from the ECB last night. We will have to look for a replacement,” said Kasi Viswanathan, the CEO of Chennai Super Kings which also owns the Johannesburg franchise in the South Africa league.

His absence is going to be a massive blow for the franchise as he has enormous experience of playing in the shortest format. In 20 T20Is that he has played so far, Brook has smashed 372 runs at a strike rate of 137.77 and averages over 26. In T20 cricket overall, the Yorkshire-born cricketer has scored 2432 runs in 99 matches. Hence the franchise is bound to feel his loss.

However, as per a report by Cricbuzz, the cricketer has no chance of missing the 16th edition of the IPL. All the English players will be available for the entire season as things stand.

The 23-year-old will be seen playing for England when they tour South Africa for a three-match ODI series, starting January 27. The South African T20 league, which is slated to run from January 10 to February 11, will be paused for a few days to conduct the 50-over series.