Former England batter Mark Butcher has defended Harry Brook’s decision to pull out of IPL 2025. Brook was bagged by Delhi Capitals for INR 6.25 crore in IPL 2025 mega auction. However, the right-hander decided to pull out of the tournament for the second time.
As per the new IPL rules, Brook has been banned from taking part in the IPL for two years. However, Butcher feels the youngster has made the right call with a crucial home season on the cards. England will host India for five Test matches whereas they will take on Australia in the Ashes later in the year.
Mark Butcher said on Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast, “This could be a career-defining, I think it’s a team-defining or a project-defining summer for England and McCullum and Key and Stokes. So therefore I think he’s made the right call. And he will make a lot of money playing for England. It’s one of the great advantages of being a capped, contracted England player, your compensation is very good. And that’s part of something that I know Rob Key and the ECB have been in long discussions about, right the way back in 2022 when he took over.
“If we’re going to protect ourselves, protect the national team and the national sport from outside influences, we need to make sure that the players we want and that we need are recompensed equitably with those tournaments.”
Meanwhile, Brook had decided to pull out of IPL 2024 after his grandmother’s demise. Butcher, the former left-handed batter, believes Brook’s decision will be popular among the fans as many players take a break after playing in the IPL.
He concluded, “This summer is going to be huge: Six Test matches, five against India, the Zimbabwe Test in May before that, various white-ball commitments as well that he will be involved in and then the Ashes. If you’re going to take a break – I mean England fans will be saying: ‘Good on you, hats off’, because I think people get a bit sick of hearing players say they need a break and then you don’t see them playing for England when they’ve spent two and a half months at the IPL. So it will be a popular decision among the fans and supporters here.”
