Widely tipped to succeed the retired Ben Stokes as England’s Test captain, batting star Harry Brook has said he will not play franchise cricket outside The Hundred. Brook reiterated his desire to remain
fully committed to representing England at the international level.
Stokes had recently endorsed Brook as a potential future England Test captain.
Brook already leads England’s ODI and T20I sides.
“I’ve committed completely to England cricket,” Brook said ahead of the first T20I between England and India. “I’ve said that I don’t want to play any franchise cricket barring the Hundred and given everything that I want to do is to play cricket for England and whatever I do on and off the field is to try and be and perform as well as I possibly can for England, and hence the reason I don’t play in the IPL and PSL and all the other franchise competitions.”
Brook previously played one IPL season in 2023 for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Despite the hype, he endured a modest campaign, though he did score a century.
He was later bought by Delhi Capitals at the IPL 2025 mega auction but withdrew from the tournament to prioritise his England career.
“I am just happy playing cricket for England as much as I possibly can. Hence the reason I don’t play any franchise cricket. For me, personally, I just got to try and look after myself, to be honest. To play as many games as I possibly can for England, and whether that’s as captain or not – I’m just happy to be out on the park,” he said.
Brook may not be interested in overseas T20 leagues, but he remains a regular in The Hundred, where the 27-year-old represents Sunrisers Leeds (formerly Northern Superchargers).
He will be back in action on Wednesday, leading England against world champions India in the opening T20I at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street.
