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The Delhi Capitals (DC) will be without England's Harry Brook for the IPL 2024 season as the latter has pulled out of the tournament. Brook took to his social media account on March 13 to reveal the reason behind his withdrawal from the recently concluded Test series against India.
The batter had to rush back home from England's preparatory camp in Abu Dhabi when he came to know that his grandmother was ill and didn't have a lot of time left. He wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that he had lost his grandmother and that was the reason why he wished to pull out of the IPL 2024 season. He wanted to focus on his mental health and be there with his family during such a tough time.
Harry Brook thanked the ECB and the Delhi Capitals in his post for their cooperation. DC will now be seeking options to replace the England star. On that note, let's take a look at three players who could be high in the pecking order for the Capitals.
#3 Michael Bracewell
Having snapped up Harry Brook for ₹ 4 crore in the IPL 2024 auction, Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting had been pretty vocal about how they looked at him for the finisher's role. If this is the particular role that DC is looking at even in his replacement, they could take a punt on New Zealand's Michael Bracewell.
Bracewell played just five matches in the IPL 2023 season for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), where he picked up six wickets and scored 58 runs. However, the Kiwi all-rounder has shown his ability to deliver big hits on the international stage and could flourish in the lower middle order if given a consistent run of games.
Bracewell's off-spin could also be more than handy if Delhi produces slow and low surfaces similar to last season.
#2 Josh Inglis
Australian wicketkeeper Josh Inglis going unsold in the IPL 2024 auction was a bit of a surprise, given how well he had played in the T20I series against India just a few weeks before the auction. He had also smashed his maiden T20I hundred then and had shown his ability to dominate spinners.
These are key attributes that could work well for DC if they look to secure Inglis' services. While Rishabh Pant has been declared fit by the BCCI to play as a wicketkeeper-batter, he is still coming back from a long injury lay-off.
Inglis gives a backup option as a wicketkeeper too if Delhi wish to ease Pant gradually into the scheme of things. He also gives them a solid batting backup with the reserves pretty thin in that department.
#1 Jake Fraser-McGurk
Arguably the most exciting signing that DC can make to replace Harry Brook is young Australian sensation Jake Fraser-McGurk. Known for his explosive batting, Fraser-McGurk smashed an incredible hundred of just 29 balls for South Australia in domestic cricket in October 2023, breaking AB de Villiers' record for the fastest ton in a List A game.
He brought that form into the Big Bash League 2023/24 and also made his ODI debut for the Australian team. His sizzling 41 off just 18 balls against the West Indies caught the eye of many cricketing pundits, including Ricky Ponting himself.
According to reports from Code Sports, DC have already begun talks with Fraser-McGurk as Brook's replacement. Despite the youngster predominantly being a top-order batter and not a finisher, Ponting could get the best out of Fraser-McGurk's potential and give DC's batting the X-factor they need.
