As the new limited-overs captain of England, Harry Brook has promised to put franchise cricket on hold for the benefit of English cricket and stated that no amount of money will stop him from giving it his all.
On Monday, Harry Brook, 26, was announced as Jos Buttler’s replacement.
This position will give one of the team’s best all-format hitters more responsibility by entrusting him with a much-needed overhaul. The first year of Brook’s tenure will need clarity and significant improvement after a difficult time in the ODI and T20I formats, which included defeats in the Champions Trophy and T20 World Cup within nine months. Another T20 World Cup is scheduled for February in India and Sri Lanka.
Harry Brook first year as captain coincides with important Test series against Australia and India. Brook, who is ranked No. 2 in the ICC’s Test batting rankings, behind fellow Yorkshireman Joe Root, is an essential member of the red-ball team and will play a key role in those battles. The fact that Brook prioritises winning the 2026 T20 World Cup over winning the Ashes this winter, despite his new responsibilities, shows where his mind is at. As vice-captain, Harry Brook is completely in line with the Ashes tour, which is seen as essential to the Test team’s legacy of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
“It’s the Ashes, I think,” Brook responded when asked to choose between the two during his Headingley launch on Wednesday. “I know I’ve taken over the white-ball captaincy, but the Ashes is the pinnacle of cricket for me still.”
Something must give since they are already stretched across forms, and Brook has determined that it will be franchise cricket. March is willing to pay the price for the sake of his nation, even though it is consistent with his decision to withdraw from a £590,000 IPL contract with the Delhi Capitals for the second consecutive year, earning himself a two-year ban.
Harry Brook responded, “Definitely not at the minute,” when asked if he knew of a person who might cause him to reconsider his franchise position. “All I want is to play cricket for England, represent my nation as I have in recent years, and maybe make a significant contribution to the team going forward.
England is my top focus, and franchise cricket can essentially take a backseat for the time being. I would gladly give up a little cash here and there to play cricket for England because, at the end of the day, I love it more than anything else.
“I haven’t given up on franchise cricket entirely. However, given my schedule, I don’t think I’ll have much chance to play on the franchise circuit anytime soon.”
Although the BCCI has not yet notified Brook of his IPL ban, he acknowledges that it is “fair play” in light of the new regulations implemented for the 2025 season. After missing England’s Test tour to India at the beginning of the year due to his grandmother’s illness, he was unable to participate in the 2024 edition.
Harry Brook gave the excuse that he needed to “recharge after the busiest period in my career to date” this time. Even though he can afford to miss IPL earnings, there is a legitimate need to recover because he still has 18 months left on a lucrative ECB central contract that isn’t enhanced by a captaincy bonus.
Harry Brook has participated in 50 games since the beginning of the summer, 38 of which have been for England in three different formats, including two ICC tournaments. As of this writing, just five men have participated in more international cricket matches.
He missed an eight-match white-ball tour of the Caribbean and a home Twenty20 International series against Australia during this time, which spilt over into the New Zealand Test visit at the end of 2024. Finding them will be more difficult as captain, even if Brook expects that more voids would need to be made in his schedule.
Before an ODI tour of Ireland in late September, England’s summer schedule consists of 12 white-ball matches (against South Africa and the West Indies) and six Test matches (beginning with a one-off match against Zimbabwe prior to the India series). A limited-overs tour of New Zealand starts in late October, prior of the five-match Ashes, after two to three weeks off. This is followed by a white-ball warm-up trip of Sri Lanka before the T20 World Cup.
Because of the enormous amount of cricket, Brook has a lot of empathy for Buttler, his predecessor, who frequently captained weaker teams during the busiest times of the year. Jos had a difficult time. He didn’t, in my opinion, always have the greatest players, and hopefully we can change that going forward.
Harry Brook greatest issue will be juggling his workload and leadership responsibilities because he is one of the “best” players whose availability was impeded by all-format demands. For instance, the Ireland series, which consists of three games spread over five days in September, has already been designated as one to miss. However, Brook acknowledges that these can offer beneficial chances to further establish his standards and procedures early in his rule.
“I might want to play in that Ireland series, but it might be one to miss. I might want to stay with the guys and keep them positive because this is my first year.
“A lot of cricket is played. And I’m excited about it. The Ashes will be incredible. But before that, we have a lot of cricket. That’s probably where taking the occasional week off and possibly skipping the odd series wouldn’t be a dumb idea.
Prior to the Zimbabwe Test, which starts at Trent Bridge on May 22, Brook stated that he will play in the Hundred as captain of the Northern Superchargers and “a game or two” for Yorkshire in the County Championship in May. Wednesday morning’s workout at Headingley was just his second since he returned from the Champions Trophy at the beginning of March.
Regarding his own performance, will captaincy enable Brook to get past a slump that saw him score just 47 runs in three innings in the Champions Trophy? He definitely believes so, citing the five-match ODI series against Australia in September of last year, in which he averaged 78 while filling in for an injured Butter.
“This may sound a little silly, but I believe that being captain virtually forces you to win more games. I’m not suggesting that I don’t want to win when I’m not captain. In any case, I’m a fierce competitor who detests failure. I hope I can infuse the group with that spirit of competition in a constructive manner.
India
