Moeen Ali, the former England allrounder, believes the possibility of Harry Brook receiving a two-year ban from the IPL for withdrawing from the tournament for a second straight year after being signed at the auction “is not harsh”.
According to the IPL’s new rules, Brook is now not eligible to play in the IPL, or be part of the auction, until IPL 2027. As things stand, the only exception the IPL has made for signed players missing a season is in the case of “an injury/medical condition, which will have to be confirmed by the [player’s] home board”.
“It’s not [harsh] though, I kinda agree with it,” Moeen said on the Beard Before Cricket podcast, when asked whether a two-year ban would be harsh. “A lot of people do that [withdrawing]. People have done it in the past, and then they come back in and end up getting a better financial package or whatever it is. It kinda messes up a lot of things as well at the same time.
“It’s messed his team [Delhi Capitals] up, him pulling him out. Any team that loses Harry Brook is messed up a bit, and they’ve got to now rejig everything and stuff like that. Forget him for a second, if you do pull out, the rule is you get a ban, unless it’s a family reason or injury. If it’s injury, it’s different. But I think if you just pull out, then it’s… I kinda agree with it [the rules].”
Delhi Capitals, who signed Brook for INR 6.25 crore (£590,000 approx.) at the mega-auction last November, were told about his withdrawal earlier this month through the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Brook posted on social media at the time that he needed “time to recharge after the busiest period in my career to date”.
Brook, who has an all-format contract with England is considered the frontrunner to be the next white-ball captain following Jos Buttler’s decision to step down from the role after England’s winless campaign at the Champions Trophy.
Moeen, who will be playing for Kolkata Knight Riders at IPL 2025, felt the possibility of Brook taking over as England captain may have led him to his IPL decision. England have two big Test assignments later in the year: a five-Test series against India at home between June and August, followed by the Ashes in Australia between November and January.
“It’s happened a few times before, England players have done it a few times before in the past,” Moeen said. “With him, he’s played a lot of cricket; he’s probably just thinking a little bit of a rest, there’s a big summer coming up, a big 12 months coming up.
“England do play a lot though. He [Brook] plays all forms, he’s probably going to be captain of the white-ball side as well, he’s probably just giving himself a bit of a break. It’s been a tough winter, he’s probably just going to get his game in order a bit more. That’s all.”
This decision puts Brook in a tight spot. While the IPL hasn’t officially sanctioned him, the new rules, put in place ahead of the 2025 season, have been drafted based on feedback from the franchises who have expressed frustration at such late withdrawals by overseas players.
This is the second year in a row that Brook has pulled out before the start of an IPL season.Last March, ten days before their opening match of the season, Brook informed DC he was withdrawing from the tournament to be with his family after the death of his grandmother. The bereavement had already caused him to pull out of England’s Test tour of India in February.
Adil Rashid, the England legspinner who has previously been part of the IPL with Sunrisers Hyderabad, concurred with Moeen.
“That’s the rule. If they actually put that rule in place before and then this happens, you know going in that this is the rule, where you put your name and you know if you pull out – this is gonna happen,” Rashid said. “You know the consequences to it. So, I don’t think it’s harsh. If you pull out through injury or whatever it is, rules may differ or change in that way.
“This has been going on for a little while, Mo been in IPL lot longer, for five-ten years a lot of people who have been selected generally have pulled out. That’s what they’re trying to stop, where a lot of people who make the team up pull out last minute, and that messes things up in term of dynamics of teams.”
