ODI World Cup 2023: Ben Stokes Doubtful For England's World Cup Opener, Brook May Debut
Because of his prolific batting, Brook has been tagged as a future game superstar. England gave away opener Jason Roy to make room for him.
The cosmos appears to be conspiring to fulfil Harry Brook's World Cup hopes, and the 24-year-old is expected to make his tournament debut in Ahmedabad on Thursday, replacing Ben Stokes, who is nursing a slight hip ailment.
England gave away opener Jason Roy to make room for Brook, who has been dubbed a potential superstar of the game due to his prolific batting.
Stokes, who reversed his surprise one-day retirement to rejoin the squad, has not yet been ruled out of a rematch of the 2019 final, but England captain Jos Buttler has revealed why England's number four batter was not totally fit.
"He has a minor niggle with his hip." "I'm hoping it's good news for us," Buttler told reporters at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday.
"He's working hard with the physios and we'll know more when the guys arrive for training (later) today."
Stokes, who has been out with a knee injury for some time, is back in the one-day setup primarily as a batsman, and his record-breaking 182 against New Zealand last month demonstrated what he is capable of even in a restricted position.
England is understandably hesitant of rushing him so early in a six-week competition.
"We'll make the right call here - if he's not fit to play, he's not fit to play," added Buttler. "It's not the time to take a big risk on someone at the start of the tournament."
Brook, an automatic inclusion in England's test side and a member of their T20 World Cup-winning team last year, is set to benefit from the situation.
"We all know what a wonderful player Harry is. "His start to his international career has been outstanding in both T20 and test cricket," Buttler remarked.
"He hasn't played a lot of one-day international cricket, but it's a format that should suit him perfectly."
"It would allow him to bat for an extended period of time and hit big runs, which he enjoys doing."
"He calls all the shots. We know from test cricket that he can bat long. So it's a format that should work well for him."