Harry Brook has returned from England's training camp ahead of the Test tour to India for personal reasons and the batsman will not be returning. Surrey's Dan Lawrence has been called up as a substitute and is expected to arrive within 48 hours.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has confirmed that Brook will withdraw with immediate effect from the squad, which is currently preparing for the start of Thursday's first Test in Dubai. The 24-year-old could return to the tour at a later date.
“The Brooke family respectfully requests privacy during this period. In light of this, the ECB and the family urge the media and the public to respect their request for privacy and refrain from intruding into their private spaces. ” said the ECB statement.
Lawrence is currently playing in the UAE's International League T20 and has shown excellent form in short form recently. In The Hundred, Dunne became London Spirit's second highest run scorer, scoring 151 runs at a strike rate of 164.13. And in the T20 Blast, he finished as Essex's second highest run-scorer, scoring 386 runs at an outstanding strike rate of 153.1, as the team reached the final and lost to Somerset.
Lawrence has not played a Test for England since March 2022 against the West Indies. The 26-year-old scored 91 in the second Test at Bridgetown but otherwise struggled for runs.
England's other option for the first Test in India is to play both Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes as wicketkeeper rather than choosing between the two.
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The likely option from the England Lions squad is captain Josh Bohannon, who scored a century against India A last week, but other mid-order players such as James Lew and Dan Mousley have also been overlooked.
